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Horn of Gabriel

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Everything posted by Horn of Gabriel

  1. That tracks because when I try to crush it I end up losing form and shanking. My best shots have been at about 75% power and focused on form.
  2. What one person calls "propping up" or "subsidizing" another calls "investing into." Why do you think the NBA and its owners have and continue to put money into the W? It's not charity I can assure you. They see an investment that will pay off, in fact already is since TV revenue is up 6X and franchise values 25X. Every AI company like OpenAI and Anthropic are running massive losses right now, but they're paying AI engineers tens and hundreds of millions of dollars apiece because that is what those people are worth in the market if you want to keep them. Does that make the investors in OpenAI and other companies idiots or "running a charity?" Nope, they're being smart playing the long game and it will mint many billionaires and probably a trillionaire before that ride is over. The "WNBA operates at a loss" talking point is a red herring. First, no one has seen the books so no one really knows how true that is other than the owners and they aren't talking. They do conveniently let everyone else spread that talking point without correcting it though. 🤔 Second, that talking point comes from the first 20 years of the W, before revenue went up 6X and they signed a TV contract for >$250MM. Third, as @Bozo_Casanova and I pointed out upthread, the W franchises very likely structured to run a loss. One way is that the owners have their own franchises rent facilities (their 2nd biggest cost after payroll) from businesses the owners also own, effectively paying themselves, but showing a loss on paper to harvest "losses" for tax purposes. Owners have legions of accountants to push paper around to do that and love it because of a) money and b) it allows them to cry "poor" in negotiations with players, in negotiations with municipalities on stadium builds, and with smooth brains on the internet who say "herr durr the WNBA runs a massive loss and shouldn't even exist today!" because it makes them look like Dale Carnegie or something patting these poor women on the heads and giving them an opportunity do something they'd never get to do without the billionaire's charity. Give me a break.
  3. Kinda surprising given the logjam in the backcourt. OTOH he's a proven all-star player vs. some young guns. This spells front office confidence that they can make all the pieces fit.
  4. After 25 years of never swinging a club, I picked up my clubs from the literal last century this March and started playing again. Yeah, I'm complete shit. I took a few lessons with the pro at the local course to get my swing rebuilt, and have spent a lot of time with coach YouTube over the past six months. I like that it's a sport my wife and I can play together as we age (currently mid/late 40's). I've worked out a ton of stuff to get to my current state which I could call "absolutely bad," but that's a step up from "doesn't make consistent contact with the ball." My wife and I play now an about 3x-4x month and I might go with my bud about another 1-2x more. Fun when it's working and so so frustrating when it's not. I'm around 100 on average (like I said: SHIT). Issues the pro and I worked out: Driver - when I started back I could hit my small irons decently but the driver was like voodoo. I would top the shit out of it, worm burners all over, and when I made good contact I would open the face terribly and sent it off to the right. I had to learn a lot more about setup and address for the driver being different. What cemented it for me was when the pro told me something like: "Golf isn't one game. It's 5 games: driver, long irons, short irons, chipping, and putting. And the swings for each of those are a bit different." Now I can make good and fairly consistent contact with my driver, in May I gave up my 30 year old Dunlop driver from high school and got a 2 or 3 generation old TaylorMade SIM2 at the golf store for $250. It feels great and makes that beautiful sound when you hit it sweet. I'm still not getting the distance I want out of it; I'm averaging around 200 and my club head speed on the monitor is only mid-90s. If I try to push it faster my form gets out of whack and I mis-strike it, so that is a work-in-progress. I've been watching a lot of videos of the pros and the long drivers specifically with regard to weight shift but I still don't feel like I'm recruiting the power of my lower body enough. For reference, I'm not weak and do lift 😅, I squat and deadlift north of 400 lbs which is decent for my age I guess, I just don't feel like I 'm putting that strength to use on the swing! Tips welcome. Irons - I have really worked on delaying my release and getting my hands in front of the ball so I can hit the low point of the swing in front of the ball. Wow that is hard (for me). I still regularly chunk the shit out of it and hit fat/behind it. I drill this a lot but feel like hitting at the range those pads lie to you and hide fat hits. Chipping/Wedges - I've done a lot of work here but I feel like I blade a good portion of my chips. Recent video I watched and incorporated described the ideal feeling as "putting with a wedge," which is a good mental model for me to keep in mind. I tend to chop at it and abbreviate the swing in an attempt to muscle or lift it out but I need to trust the club face more. Putting - I'm actually not a terrible putter and can read breaks ok. What I don't have experience on is understanding green speeds. I played with a buddy the other day on a new course and I guess they had just punched and sanded recently and my 20 ft putt went about 5 feet lol. I think just need more reps. And a L.A.B. putter, obviously. My friend, who is a big golfer and is retired/gets to golf a lot, saw my 30 year old irons and said "here borrow my extra set of 7 year old TMs." But I'd like to get my own set that is at least modern and give those back. I think I'm probably going to get some Takomo irons to supplement my driver.
  5. I do the same and hate it. The one tip the coach gave me that helped me a tiny bit was imagine someone pulling down on the bill of your hat thru the swing. I was topping cause I was lifting up...
  6. After 25 years of never swinging a club, I picked up my clubs from the literal last century this March and started playing again. Yeah, I'm complete shit. I took a few lessons with the pro at the local course to get my swing rebuilt, and have spent a lot of time with coach YouTube over the past six months. I like that it's a sport my wife and I can play together as we age (currently mid/late 40's). I've worked out a ton of stuff to get to my current state which I could call "absolutely bad," but that's a step up from "doesn't make consistent contact with the ball." My wife and I play now an about 3x-4x month and I might go with my bud about another 1-2x more. Fun when it's working and so so frustrating when it's not. I'm around 100 on average (like I said: SHIT). Issues the pro and I worked out: Driver - when I started back I could hit my small irons decently but the driver was like voodoo. I would top the shit out of it, worm burners all over, and when I made good contact I would open the face terribly and sent it off to the right. I had to learn a lot more about setup and address for the driver being different. What cemented it for me was when the pro told me something like: "Golf isn't one game. It's 5 games: driver, long irons, short irons, chipping, and putting. And the swings for each of those are a bit different." Now I can make good and fairly consistent contact with my driver, in May I gave up my 30 year old Dunlop driver from high school and got a 2 or 3 generation old TaylorMade SIM2 at the golf store for $250. It feels great and makes that beautiful sound when you hit it sweet. I'm still not getting the distance I want out of it; I'm averaging around 200 and my club head speed on the monitor is only about 90-95. If I try to push it faster my form gets out of whack and I mis-strike it, so that is a work-in-progress. I've been watching a lot of videos of the pros and the long drivers specifically with regard to weight shift but I still don't feel like I'm recruiting the power of my lower body enough. For reference, I'm not weak and do lift 😅, I squat and deadlift north of 400 lbs which is decent for my age I guess, I just don't feel like I 'm putting that strength to use on the swing! Tips welcome. Irons - I have really worked on delaying my release and getting my hands in front of the ball so I can hit the low point of the swing in front of the ball. Wow that is hard (for me). I still regularly chunk the shit out of it and hit fat/behind it. I drill this a lot but feel like hitting at the range those pads lie to you and hide fat hits. Chipping/Wedges - I've done a lot of work here but I feel like I blade a good portion of my chips. Recent video I watched and incorporated described the ideal feeling as "putting with a wedge," which is a good mental model for me to keep in mind. I tend to chop at it and abbreviate the swing in an attempt to muscle or lift it out but I need to trust the club face more. Putting - I'm actually not a terrible putter and can read breaks ok. What I don't have experience on is understanding green speeds. I played with a buddy the other day on a new course and I guess they had just punched and sanded recently and my 20 ft putt went about 5 feet lol. I think just need more reps. And a L.A.B. putter, obviously. My friend, who is a big golfer and is retired/gets to golf a lot, saw my 30 year old irons and said "here borrow my 2nd set of 7 year old TMs." But I'd like to get my own set that is at least modern and give those back. I think I'm probably going to get some Takomo irons to supplement my SIM2 driver. I just want something consistent and eliminate that variable. Where have y'all struggled? Aside from lessons, where have you found successes?
  7. Post your bets here. Anyone doing win totals? I was in Vegas last month and stopped by the MGM sports book to lay this one down 🤘🤘🤘
  8. It would be so fun to be able to jump and dunk like that. God why did you make me a fat white guy?
  9. Was just coming to say the same. Guy gets dumped, hits the gym and slims down/bulks up. We'll see how it affects his game, probably will be good, hopefully doesn't ding his durability.
  10. it would also be fun to peel off one of those 17 5*'s off of Bama just to add them to the Georgia meltdown.
  11. That's a pretty cool little setup they've built. Hope they do well.
  12. Those are classic, and awesome. Warning - they are very flat thin soles. For my flat feet they hurt to walk or stand in for extended periods (e.g games)
  13. Agree which would seem to point to getting more action at more tables with slightly lower limits. But I'm sure they have data scientists who have gamed all of it out accounting for betting volume vs. cost to staff the tables.
  14. If he can get it why not? How would it be different than OpenAI or Microsoft offering their employees stock options? Or the big Wall Street firms doling out bonuses based on profit sharing? It's all collectively bargained anyway so it's not like he's holding them hostage.
  15. The NY Liberty are owned by Joe Tsai, net worth of $11+ Billion. The new Cleveland Franchise owner is Dan Gilbert, $32 Billion. Ted Leonsis owns the Washington Mystics, $3.1 Billion. Herb Simon owns the Indiana Fever, $5.1 Billion. The WNBAs revenues just went up 6X in their most recent contract. The W will pull down north of $250MM in TV revenue this year - thanks Caitlin! I'm more with the players here. League interest is way up. Revenues are way up. Franchise valuations are way up. Player salaries are flat. That's why they opted out of the CBA. The "nobody watches" myth is busted, and the "WNBA runs a loss" is based on old revenue numbers while pumping up the cost side. Billionaire owners pay themselves as their franchises rent facilities owned by the owners. Moving money around, tax loss harvesting, etc. I have not seen any franchise P&L statement as of yet, just a lot of bluster. If I were a player I'd opt out too.
  16. My biggest concerns this year are that: Our WRs legs don't fall off after catching 80 yard bomb after 80 yard bomb Arch's doesn't get enough passes due to him going 7/7, 7TDs, 560 yards and getting pulled at halftime each game Simmons doesn't pull his hamstring celebrating his 50th sack somewhere around game 4 or 5 If we can avoid that, I think we're good.
  17. It would also be glorious to see FSU meltdown again after suing their own conference in the hope of getting into the SEC.
  18. Just got done with it. The Good: the retro feel, the musical score. Both were very well done. Pascal and Kirby were solid actors in their roles. Other two were just OK. The Bad: because they didn’t want to do the origin story for the Nth time, it required a 10 minute exposition dump off the top. That was tedious and not super effective. They chose Galactus as the big bad and he just doesn’t translate well to screen: a deity-level neigh invulnerable being the size of a skyscraper with power levels ranging from “can destroy star systems” on the low end to “kills Eternals and comp able to Infinity” on the high end. The Ugly: even for a Marvel movie this story had a usually high amount of “turn your brain off” level plot holes. To hit just a few: 9 month pregnant women goes to space, time dilation effect of FTL travel ignored while at the same time used to trap the Silver Surfer, weakass explanation for Johnny even being able to use his flame power inside a spacesuit full of oxygen, “let’s turn off and conserve power so we can use it later” …power doesn’t work that way. And it’s a minor bit but it stretches belief to have a reality where we have flying cars and teleportation but still use cassette tape drives and CRT tube displays. And we launch our space shuttle from downtown NYC. But, but, but the comics! Yeah, change the dumb shit.
  19. A forward-thinking, creative and smart players union might attempt to negotiate not just higher salaries but for % ownership in the W-franchises. It could even be structured smartly to not dilute the current owners by saying "If we take the value of the Indiana Fever as $75MM today, as part of the next CBA grant the players ownership pool will get 10% of the increase in value at the time of the sale of the franchise, to go into a pool for the players and then distributed to the players by a formula accounting for tenure, games played, etc." Now when an owner buys in for $20MM and sells for $400MM, the players would get 10% of $380MM or $38MM into their pool. Multiply this by all the franchises and you've now tightly aligned the goals of both players and owners: to grow the value of the WNBA. As the W gets to 16 teams with a roster of 12* (really 11) that makes about 192 players in the W. If one of those franchises sells every other year, and generates $40MM to the pool, that's about $100K average upside per player per year. Of course the owners would immediately reject this because they're not idiots and billionaires didn't get that way by giving away their upside to employees. They know that their payout comes from the value growth of the franchise not the year-to-year revenues. However, putting this offer out there in lieu of higher salaries would be smarter than printing t-shirts saying "Pay us what you owe us," because it would force the owners to reject the offer and then that would create leverage for the higher salaries conversation.
  20. I'm going to advocate for both owners and players in this post. To the point above, no. Players don't get the benefits of "massive franchise valuation growth" because 1) they didn't put up the money/risk buy the franchise, and 2) those are paper, not realized gains and could disappear tomorrow. In the players favor however, it's a common talking point about how the WNBA "loses money," and as a result the players should be grateful to even have a job, it's subsidized by the NBA, etc etc. All of that is only a partial truth. I'm sure the WNBA does lose money, but it's not as much as people think. First, the NBA has not (until recently) broken out the TV rights so they've under optimized the revenue generation piece. Second, the cost side is warped and not in favor of the W. Aside from personnel costs, their biggest costs are facilities. Most of the facilities are owned by the same owner groups who own the franchises, who then get those franchises to pay their facilities. They're paying themselves, and moving money around. By suppressing revenue accounting and increasing cost accounting, there is definitely some tax loss harvesting going on. On top of all that, the owners don't get to decide what the players are worth, the market does. The owners just have to decide if they want to pay it. Don't the players make multiples of their WNBA salaries playing in Europe or some of the other leagues?
  21. This post isn't getting enough love because @Vegas64 nailed it. The W is a very queer and black league. The lily-white, straight, cis, Christian Caitlin Clark shows up and they are hearing the hype train coming in before she even enters the association and they are pissed, for all the reasons quoted above. Think about it, if you are in a white collar job, you've been doing your very best over the past several years, and all of the sudden your management recruits a Harvard MBA to join after they graduate, and all you hear about is "He's going to put us on the map," "We'd be nothing without him," etc, you'd be pissed too (even if all that were true). The reason the WNBA had a niche audience isn't that they were predominantly queer or black. It's because the games were not entertaining to watch for an audience expecting NBA basketball. Truth is women's basketball may be played on the same court but it's not the same game. Pre-CC fans knew that and maybe even liked it. If you're a men's basketball fan, you see the games in the W and say "WTF is this shit?" They brick open layups on the regular, there are about 5 airballs per game minimum, tons of midrange bricks, the style of play is ugly in that most teams pound it into a big in the middle to shoot a contested 3-footer with 2 people hanging on her, the officiating is terrible, and the few players who are explosive enough to beat the first defender and uncalled foul that comes with it don't have the power to finish in the lane regularly. Because they allow so much physicality, it's no surprise that players do what they're allowed to do and favor the defense. When I watched Dallas vs. Indiana they were quoting Paige B. as saying she had to learn how to foul because they don't call it and if she's not fouling, she's not playing hard enough defense. It feels very 90's NBA when the Spurs won their first championship against the Knicks and the average score was 82-76 or something. CC is too aggressive in her passes and she generates too many turnovers as a result. She attempts passes that the men could catch but the women on her team either aren't used to the speed, angle, or just don't have the reaction time or hands to handle. She also has her own share of passes she should have never made like any PG. I'm a fan and think she will adapt and improve. But over aggression in her passes is not her biggest issue. Her biggest issue is lack of a deadly mid-range/floater. Her instinct right now is to run the P&R looking for the roller, or to pop back out looking for the 3. She'll drive if she has to but her finishing is weak compared to her 3, and she gets knocked down a lot. She needs a soft floater to take 1 dribble off the P&R and punish the overpursit of her 3. That will open up everything: the 3, the roller, and the drive.
  22. It is ridiculous. Maybe someone smarter than me did the math, but at every casino I walked into that had higher limit craps tables like $25 or $50 I would see one table with 3-4 people on it, and 10-12 empty unmanned tables. Guess they prefer a handful of higher rollers than tables full of lower ones? Those empty tables are just sitting there costing money! I'm sure they'll be replace by more slot machines soon.
  23. How can we possibly be expected to land recruits with that kerning?
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