Brett Favre

Congrats to the Green Bay Packers for winning the Super Bowl. I was mildly surprised by this outcome because I came to believe that Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers were one of those teams that win big games like the Super Bowl. Also, I remember my visit to Lambeau this year where I saw a completely mediocre Dolphins team beat the Packers. Anyway, this post isn't about Roethlisberger, the Packers or anything related to the game last night.

The content of this post is a player that always seems to be in the media's attention no matter what he does. He is one of the all-time greats, who helped lead a Midwestern team to the title. During that time he won multiple MVPs, set many all-time records and gained more than a few million devoted fans. However, some negatives associated with this athlete included his really large ego, his commercialization and his many retirements with multiple teams. Why would an all-time great ruin his legacy by waffling so much with retirement? Why would he tarnish our image of him by playing in another team's colors?

I'm writing about Brett Favre, but I'm also writing about Michael Jordan. Somehow, I think the criticism of Jordan has had less of an impact than the criticism of Favre. Right now when Favre's name comes up in conversation there is a better than average chance somebody will complain. They will complain about the pictures he allegedly took and sent to Jenn Sterger. They will complain about how he should have retired a long time ago and how his the soap opera every off-season about how he may or may not play is tiring.

Michael Jordan cheated on his wife and paid the woman $250,000 to keep it quiet. Don't believe me then check out what Michael Jordan acknowledged in this article on cnn.com. His wife and him divorced in 2006 and the last we saw of Jordan's love interest he was escorting a 3o year old Cuban model at his Hall of Fame induction. Did Brett Favre do worse in his relationships with the opposite sex?

Michael Jordan retired from basketball three separate times and each time he seemed to hurt his former team more. The first time he left the Bulls they went from winning the title to losing in the playoffs two straight years. The second time he left the Bulls they went from winning 75% of their games to losing almost 75% of their games. The last time he left a team was the Wizards and he gave them Kwame Brown as a consolation prize. For all of those who write about how Favre strung the Packers and Vikings along and left them in a terrible position, they might want to look at closer at Jordan.

Then their is the ego and commercialization. Whatever you say or write about Favre must also be written about Jordan. In fact the only difference I can find between them is that Jordan played himself in a movie (Space Jam). Oh wait Favre had There's Something About Mary. What about selling cheap goods sold at Wal-Mart? Jordan sees Favre's Wrangler jeans and raises him some Hanes underwear.

Michael Jordan is lucky he came along when he did, because some of the stuff he did (gambling debts, punching teammates) would probably look a little differently under the 24/7 news light. Right now he is viewed much more favorably than Favre and I just don't understand it. Whatever negative press Favre has received needs to be applied in retrospect to Jordan.

Personal Finance

This week on slate.com there was an interesting series of posts written by Jessica Grose about how couples managed their finances. She wrote five posts ranging from a set-up describing the different ways people managed their money to a detailed review of those three different ways (Common Potters, Sometimes Sharers, Independent Operators) to the conclusion on how she and her husband were going to be managing their money. I encourage anyone interested in personal finance to give all five posts a chance.

While others might get uncomfortable when the subject comes up, I think it is really interesting to see how people handle their money. Currently, I love talking about personal finances, but it wasn't always the case. I didn't really care how much money I had or what I did with it for the longest time in my life. However, when I began my 2nd job out of college something clicked and from that point on I have been been diligent in regards to managing my money. Since that day back in 2007, I have managed a monthly budget and taken interest in something I never really cared about for the first 24 years of my life.

It made logical sense that when M and I got married that I would continue to do a budget, but this time for two people instead of just me. It has been a pretty good system for both of us and the slate.com series got my thinking that I should share my thoughts on budgeting. Here are the basic budgeting rules that we follow:

1. Know how much we make.
2. Know how much we spend.
3. Know where our money is.

If I can answer those three questions then I am happy. Any further detail from those points is just an added bonus, but really knowing those three things means the most to me. I would like to address each point individually, without giving specific quantitative details.

Point 1 - Know how much we make.

Knowing one's salary or hourly wage is one thing, but that is just a starting point. It is important to know what contributions you are making (401K, medical, dental) that affects the difference between your salary and your take home pay.

Point 2 - Know how much we spend

For this I place any transaction from our checking accounts into 18 categories ranging from "rent" to "gifts" to "entertainment." Accounting for every penny we spend isn't something I would like to do, so something like an ATM category allows me to have some flexibility and more importantly some sanitiy. There is no point in coming up with such a detailed budget that you dread putting it together. The important thing for me is knowing generally speaking how much money we spend. I like being able to know basic amounts, so that I will know what to adjust if the current situation changes.

Point 3 - Know where our money is

This should be pretty basic, but I found some people don't even know how much money they have or how to access that money. If you (or your parents) worked, so hard for that money then it is nice to keep track of it. I like to know where the money is and what that situation means for my money in terms of risk versus reward. Do I have too much money in stocks and not enough in cash? Is my cash making 0% interest, when there is a 4% interest checking account available? Are my stocks diversified? Too Risky? Risky Enough? There are certain tools you can use to keep track of where your money is, but sometimes it is as easy as just logging into your checking, savings, stock brokerage accounts.

One note on the stock front is that I find the Morningstar Instant X-Ray to be an extremely valuable tool, when I want to review my stock holdings. All you have to do is enter your stock tickers and how much money you have in each and Morningstar will give you an overall view of what kind of stocks (ex large cap vs small cap) you are holding.

Overall

If you keep up with the answers to those three questions every, single month then you will start notice certain patterns. More importantly for me, I find comfort in having that information available. One of the financial stories that I like most comes from the banker J.P. Morgan. When a person approached him in order to get some advice on how to handle being nervous about his investments, J.P. Morgan allegedly said "Sell down to the sleeping point."

I am sure this quote has changed people's investing strategies in terms of managing risk, but I am taking the advice differently. My sleeping point isn't taking money out of the stock market and putting it all in cash. My risk isn't that the money in the stock market will go down. Knowing how much money I am making, where it is going and where it has been allows me to sleep well at night, and understanding the answers to important financial questions (ex. how expensive of a house can we afford) is the risk I am trying to manage. It might sound cliche, but when it comes to personal finance knowledge is power.

Roethlisberger

Two years ago I wrote a few thoughts on Super Bowl Sunday before the Steelers - Cardinals game. The main focus on the post was Ben Roethlisberger. That wasn't much of a surprise since Roethlisberger has been a once in a lifetime athlete. Not only was he the best, most accomplished athlete to ever attend Miami University, but he also happened to play all three years at Miami while I was a student there. I had seen him around the campus and I had seen him quarterback the Redhawks more than a few times. In terms of a favorite athlete he was in a different category. Nobody else could compare with his resume of great play combined with the Miami University connection.

Then it all started happening. While I thought the motorcycle accident in 2006 was dumb, I didn't think much of it besides that. Then the sexual assault allegation in 2008 shook me up a little bit, but after reading more about the situation I didn't really believe the accusations. It seemed like the alleged assault victim was trying to make some money off someone famous, and it didn't work. However, the accusations in Georgia last year were a little different. Based on what I've read it didn't sound like a dumb mistake or a money grab. I will never know what really happened, but the situation left me with a negative impression of Roethlisberger.

Now, I have an internal debate going on about Roethlisberger. First and foremost is it right to condemn someone who has never been charged with a crime? Aren't we supposed to presume innocence? I know Roger Goodell and public opinion have convicted him, but that doesn't mean I should just follow the crowd.

That is the first piece of debate. Did Roethlisberger commit crime? That leads to the second piece of debate about whether or not he can be forgiven if he did commit a crime? If we assume that he did commit sexual assault then can I really wear my #7 Roethlisberger jersey with pride? Is there anything he can do to redeem himself? A lot has been made of Michael Vick, but Vick is different. He was convicted and served his debt to society. If you are a dog lover and don't want to cheer for Vick then that is your right, but there aren't many open questions about him. For Roethlisberger there are nothing but open questions.

Let's say that Roethlisberger did commit the crime in Georgia. At one point is it ok to forgive him or does that point even exist? I don't think there are really any excuses that could be made, but the article I read from David Epstein on Roethlisberger's head injuries was enlightening. I read that article back in May and it opened up even more questions. As a football fan am I enabling a sport that causes head injuries? And what do the head injuries do to someone's personality?

In Epstein's article he points out how head injuries might affect someone's understanding of social rules, and that a lot of what Roethlisberger did seems to reflect a guy who didn't have a clue. He also points that it is hard to know if Roethlisberger didn't follow social rules because he he was rich, famous athlete. Did becoming a professional quarterback make him arrogant and mean or was the cause of all of this the many head injuries? In the article Epstein quotes a neurologist who asks "is this from a motorcycle accident, or is this his true personality? I don't think anyone's going to know that for sure." It is hard not to watch the Steelers play and notice the amount and severity of the hits Roethlisberger takes every game. As football fans, we praise him for the style and results of that type of play, but should we reconsider the long term effects?

I don't have many answers to the questions I am asking, but I do know that when I met Roethlisberger as a freshmen in college, I didn't meet the guy described by many people. He was a relatively quiet individual, who shook my hand and introduced himself as Ben. He didn't seem like the life of the party sitting in the dorm room watching an offensive lineman and me play a game of Madden. Now, I know this is a small sample size and freshmen year of college was way before being a 1st round pick or winning Super Bowls, but still it is the one data point I can contribute to the Roethlisberger story.

So, I have asked a lot of questions that presents a muddy picture of a great quarterback. If it was as simple as looking at stats and judging wins then it would be a much easier thing for me to analyze. That is one of the great things about sports, since normally things are so much easier to judge. For example it is a lot easier to try and figure out who is a better basketball player than it is to see which friend is nicer. However, Roethlisberger isn't an easy person to figure out and this whole situation just leaves a sour taste in my mouth. All I wish is that Roethlisberger would have been an average human being, who was never accused of anything. As it currently stands though he was accused and I can't be 100% certain that he did anything wrong. I wish I could end this post with some type of uplifting comment that would wrap up everything in a one sentence summary. However, like the rest of the post all I am coming back to is the fact that there is a lot of things I don't know.

Thunder - Twolves

Unless I win the lottery and go traveling the country in search of great games, I feel pretty safe to write that after last night I can cross one spot off my top games of 2011. Last night's Thunder-Twolves overtime game was a great game to watch, and one that I was lucky to have seen from the 4th row.

I had wanted to go see Durant and Westbrook play, so I worked out a deal with a guy on craigslist for Lexus courtside club tickets right on the baseline. My friend and I worked out a plan to go early and take full advantage of the free drinks and food before the game and during halftime. Well, our plan worked to perfection. We were in the Lexus lounge as early as possible (5pm) and had enough time to enjoy a few beers and more than a few ahi tuna on bread appetizers. The food (tuna, chicken, chips and guacamole, London broil and mashed potatoes) was excellent and the whole experience made me wish I was one of the *super-rich people who normally own courtside seats.

*Waiting for the valet afterwards was kind of funny. There was a steady string of Range Rovers, Lexus cars (I don't know the plural of Lexus) and then my 2007 Honda Civic.

Anyway, some quick thoughts on the game before a few pictures:

• Durant is incredible. It is hard to believe how someone so tall can be such a great shooter. The Twolves defenders looked like they had no chance in stopping him. It was really fun seeing him take and make so many shots, while scoring a career high 47 points.


• Kevin Love has to make the All-Star team. His 3 point shot has improved to the point that it is a surprise if he misses one. Also, it isn't a stretch to say he is the best rebounder int the league by a wide margin. Yesterday he pulled down 21 rebounds and seemed to keep a few other possessions alive for his teammates.
  
• Nikola Pekovic seems lost out there. For those of you who don't know who Pekovic is, don't worry because you probably won't here about him again.
  
• Can someone tell me Darko Millic's shooting % on left handed hooks compared to right handed hooks? He seems like a legitimate scoring option when he shoots with his left hand, but when he goes to the right hand he doesn't look much better than Pekovic.
• Bad teams like the Twolves seem to find ways to lose the game. This time around it was a few missed free throws (one by Ridnour and one by Brewer) and a few missed possessions that doomed the home team.

Anyway, below are some pictures from the game:

Westbrook going in for a dunk after a steal. This was a lucky picture and probably my favorite of the bunch:



One of the Twolves in-arena hosts and new traffic girl for a local news station (WCCO) was kind enough to take a picture with me and my double chin. I am not sure why I look so awkward, but I'm blaming it on the flash delaying the actual picture. (That didn't seem to affect her, but whatever)


Two former #2 picks in the draft...and that's where the similarities end.


Durant on his way to 47 points and a game winner.

ESPN - Paul Millsap

Yesterday morning I emailed Henry Abbott of TrueHoop with a link to the Millsap article I wrote and a couple questions trying to get his opinion. He responded in a couple hours with his comments (mostly positive) and a question on my business title of Super User - Forecasting. If that is all that happened it would have been a perfectly good day. Any time I can get someone I regularly read like Henry Abbott to not only read what I wrote, but comment on it is enough to make me happy.

However, the real surprise was that he took my post and highlighted it on ESPN.com's TrueHoop blog. You can see his write up of my post Western forward All-Star candidates, in a handy chart. When I saw this I had one of those look twice, is this real looks on my face. I read his post about my "pretty chart" and called out my bullet point on LaMarcus Aldridge. Not too surprising considering ESPN's readership my comments section on the post starting blowing up. A few people seemed to miss the *point with the comments.

*The point was that Millsap might not be an All-Star, but he at least should be in the discussion. That's it. I wasn't saying the other players were bad or that even Millsap was definitely better than the others, but that the numbers suggest he should be in consideration for a spot on the All-Star team.

Anyway, in what was probably an amateur move I tried to answer the comments. I feel like if they took the time to write in then I should try and answer their questions and concerns. Most of the comments added something to the discussion (should Aldridge get more credit for being a #1 option? should extra credit be given to Aldridge playing better lately?) and for those comments I really enjoy debating an answer. In the future I probably should let my post speak for itself and try not to get caught up in the comments. Regardless of any mistakes I made (with my post or with my comments on the post) I am very happy with the progress. I think my writing has improved and that if I continue this pace I might be able to add a little of my perspective to Jazz related subjects. That is enough for me to be happy.

Is Paul Millsap an All-Star?

For those interested I wrote another blog post on Salt City Hoops trying to answer the question Is Paul Millsap an All-Star? I enjoyed writing another article about one of the more underrated players in the NBA. Check it out and let me know what you think. Comments are always appreciated.

Favorite Years

Over the course of my life there have been certain years that have stood out as being really good years. For some reason the stars aligned and most things seemed to break my way. I am going to rank my favorite calendar years as ones that I wouldn't mind going back in time and repeating. One note is that there are no years from my childhood. This doesn't mean I didn't have a good childhood, since from all accounts I was very happy during this time. All this means is that I have no idea how to separate out the years. Was 1986 better than 1989? I have no idea. Anyway, below is my list of what years I could easily remember and separate out

Best Years of My Life:

1. 2010 - Yes, I just finished the best year of my life. In June M and I tied the knot.
   
   I have written about this before, but it was great having so many friends and family in the same spot at the same time. In addition to that 2010 was a pretty good year for trips including; Kansas City, Spain and Las Vegas. Finally, in sports Duke was able to win the 2010 National Title in dramatic fashion and in almost as good of news watch UNC's season go down in flames as they didn't even make the NCAA tournament. Oh yeah Duke beat UNC 82-50 at Cameron, which was even better because I finally was able to use the Henry wearing a Duke jersey picture that I had been saving for the right moment. Finally, I don't want to forget was the Jazz decision to trade for Al Jefferson. Jefferson has been one of my favorite players since I saw him play for Prentiss High School in the Coliseum in Jackson, MS.


2. 2003 - I loved my sophomore year in college. While my freshmen year was more about survival, my sophomore year was about enjoying college. I had a steady group of friends and a new girlfriend. Life was good.
   
   Also, in 2003 was the first semester of junior year, which also just happened to be an unbelievable season for the Miami Redhawks football team. After losing their first game at Iowa the team won thirteen straight (the most in the nation) including a MAC title victory and a Bowl victory. I was able to attend most of the games including the last two I mentioned and loved every moment.


3. 1999 - It seems like really great years can follow pretty tough years. In 1998 I was a dorky high school sophomore. I had glasses, no girlfriend and received no meaningful playing time on the basketball team. In the summer of 1999 I made the switch to contacts, became a starter on the basketball team and in the process happened to pick up a girlfriend. The switch from one year to the next was incredible for a 16 year old kid. This really was the beginning of having a great high school experience as both my junior and senior years were so much better than my freshmen and sophomore years.


4. 2006 - I have started to notice a pattern on what makes a great year. It seems like the great years involve some type of relationship change combined with sports success. 2006 was no different. In 2006 I met M and started dating in May of that year. I knew from our first date that I wanted to date M for a long time. My friend Brooke and I talked on the phone of our first date and she remarked that I sounded so happy that she might be telling this story at our wedding. Anyway, on a relationship side of things I was extremely happy to have met and dated M.
   
   On a sports side of things 2006 was the year of the Minnesota Twins. The little team that could had one of those incredible years where they seemingly won every game. I had started the year off as a minor Twins and baseball fan and ended the year as a huge Twins fan. That passion and support of the Twins has continued to this day. Same could be written about M.


5. 2005 - This is the one year that doesn't fit the pattern of the above. Any relationship changes that I would write about would be negative. Same goes with any sports changes considering 2005 was the year UNC won the title AND Tyler Hansbrough started his reign of terror. If anything both of those starts would seem to suggest that 2005 was one of the worst years. However, three things trumped all of that negativity. I graduated from college after a great senior Year. Not that graduating from college was ever unexpected, but still I took it as a big accomplishment. The second thing is that I was able to get a job with Target Corporation in Minneapolis.
   This was a considerable weight off my shoulders since no part of me wanted to have to move back to Jackson and live with my parents. The final thing was that because my job didn't start till September I was able to take the entire summer off. That was a great summer. I watched movies, read the paper, played ping pong and hung out with my friends. It was the perfect transition from college to the working world.