Oh mannnnnnn.....
How many days until Late Night?
Summer has been fun... but I'm starting to Jones!
Recruiting heating up:
drgnslayr
11251 posts
I guess it matters how you define "pros."
One of my criteria would be that a pro lives off his/her gambling earnings, and not only pays tax on earnings, can deduct losses if they classify with the IRS as a professional gamer. I'm not sure how that is accomplished, but I would guess that most of your earnings would have to be derived from gaming.
I know some guys who gamble every week, and in total they gamble a decent amount, but they are still hobbyists and work full-time jobs.
It would be an interesting life. Spending your day studying a wide assortment of stats, stories, gossip, etc.
"He is being dealt away for 1-yrs service of Love (since he becomes a free agent next year)."
I understand teams want him to sign a multi-year contract. They will want him to do that next year, too, if he waits to become a free agent.
If you look at it from Cleveland's perspective, they can get Love on a multi-year contract. Why can't they do that next year (without giving up Wiggins and other trade)? There are other teams after Love right now, too. It isn't like they have an exclusive opportunity now.
The Wiggins trade talk is pissing me off, too. He is being dealt away for 1-yrs service of Love (since he becomes a free agent next year). The T-wolves are laughing their arses off if this deal happens.
I read that Coach K said he would trade him, too. But I would bet anyone in here a million bucks he wouldn't have said that if it was Parker on the blocks. I haven't been pleased with Coach K recently and his comments. He should keep his head down and try to make it to the Sweet 16 next year.
Most improved Jayhawk? My answer is a 7-way tie.
Mason, Selden, Ellis, Traylor, Frankamp, Greene, Lucas... All of these guys should be highly improved from last year. A big mistake would be to forget Traylor. He has the right kind of size and athleticism to be a deadly inside offensive force. This is the summer he is dedicating to offense. Another big reason Ellis is fighting hard this summer to improve is because Traylor is hot on his trail for minutes. Traylor is already the better defender.
I'm not including any freshmen because it is hard to translate their improvements from HS or Euro ball.
But I'm expecting immediate contributions from all our freshmen. That will not only bring contributions but big time entertainment. Alexander should spend his summer studying old Chocolate Thunder footage... Oubre is just a flat-out baller... Svi is going to shock people with his court awareness and basketball IQ... and Graham is skillful in all ways and will show us some nice things soon.
I still have a question mark beside Mickelson. Just haven't seen much of his play. I think he will be a decent shot-blocker, but more... I think he'll be a very solid rebounder! I'm not sure how he fits in a Self hi-lo. Can he score with his back to the basket?
"Addendum: Slayr. I did not see your edited post so we ended up saying the same thing "
Nothing wrong with that!
Yes... amateurs typically bet small sums and the pros go heavy. But there are a lot more amateur gamers than pro.
Do you have any idea of the %s on total sports gaming $s between pro and amateur? I've been curious on that for years.
@ParisHawk - You can visit gaming sites and blogs and you can find out which teams cover the most (percentage wise). Something you definitely would want to know if you ever count on "winning a living."
I believe there are two kinds of bettors; pro and 'amateur'.
The pros develop their own unique techniques for 'picking winners' and they should practice discipline and try to prevent emotions from factoring in to decisions.
Amateurs gamble more on emotion, picking their favorite teams and playing hunches.
I'd be curious to know what percentage of legal sports gambling in Vegas comes from pro and what from amateur.
It seems like wagers go up on events where there is a definite popular sports figure or a definite 'bad boy' playing. When there are both in the same event and on opposite sides, the wagering totals get huge, especially if there is plenty of publicity leading up to the event.
The 'line' on a game or event moves according to how much total wager is put down on both sides with the goal to even out the bets so the house limits risk and settles for a small percentage (usually 10%) and the occasional "push" pinpoint score where the house wins both sides.
In theory... if there is an event where there is lots of amateur money wagered and one side is heavily favored for emotional reasons, the line should move away from any logical handicapping algorithm and gaming pros look hard at a strategy of taking the popularity underdog..
@jaybate 1.0
Thanks for the reply. Well said.
I hope you keep replying to subjects involving ShoeCos. I have a better understanding now of where your replies on this come from.
Basketball, like everything else in life, will continue to evolve because time doesn't stand still, and neither does the human experience.
Advancing the game of basketball, from 1891, has been a positive evolution (for the most part). I hope it stays on a positive path that first, and foremost, takes into consideration the athletes involved, and their well-being. That doesn't mean I want to totally eliminate physical contact in the game.
BTW: I'm a cloned alias... nothing more than a script running behind a firewall.
@jaybate 1.0
"The greatest game ever invented has slowly become industrialized with all the good and bad and in between that suggests."
Amen on that!
BTW: I wasn't trying to be overly critical of you by connecting you with ShoCos!
Oh-ooo... I've connected the dots, and you appear to be one of the dots! CCCCCCCCC!
;)
@jaybate 1.0
With an open mind, I agree with your post. It seems like the ShoeCos risk too much by participating in anything illegal or of a conspiracy fashion. On the surface, it appears that they obtain their power by "buying in" (literally and figuratively), throwing countless millions into the air just to see where they drop.
However... I do think many people (including myself) will always retain a skeptic's view on just about anything where so much money is at play.
What I am very curious about is your focus (overall) on ShoeCos and their impact in sports? It seems obvious to all of us that you've (most-likely) invested the most thought in this area than the rest of us, maybe even all of us in entirety.
Do you see ShoeCos as a threat to college basketball? Kansas basketball?
In my books, ShoeCos do represent a threat as does all of the monstrous commercialism surrounding college sports. I made a vague statement because it isn't clear to me how much of a threat all the money around college sports is.
What really bothers me about all the money in and around college and pro sports is the vastness of the money supply but how it sticks into so few hands. It is hard to view the NBA these days as anything more than a lotto sweepstakes. Buy your lotto tickets and maybe you win a truckload of money. Probably you don't. So so many great players out there working their tails off, chasing the illusive jackpot.
There should be better protection in place for the players... especially the guys on the fringe. That is the first area of change where a lot of hard working guys could see a pay off. And let's not forget, these guys are a part of the overall fraternity of the game that has allowed the greatest players to become great. None of those guys did it alone. It takes years of play, thousands and thousands of games, and in order to put in those kind of reps, the fraternity (brotherhood of basketball) was, and is, involved.
ShoeCos exist totally on the brotherhood. It is the brotherhood that produces the great players for everyone to follow (and follow with buying endorsed products) and it is the brotherhood who makes up almost the entirety of the buying market. Yet... ShoeCos, for the most part, act like the NBA and team owners in only throwing money at that very top tier.
In some ways I'm glad I wasn't a better player back in my days. I'm glad I wasn't better (but just below that upper tier) where I would have sacrificed everything to chase "the dream." I bet I know and have met 1000 of these guys. I estimate that only 2-5% end up doing anything else with their lives that really helped them move forward, and raise families or reach other dreams. I was fortunate enough to be at a skill level not even close to making an NBA roster, so it stayed inside me only as a fantasy dream, not a dream I would pursue and make other costly sacrifices in the process.
My heart bleeds for all of those guys who are sitting on the fence. Most have worked so so hard, and will never show anything for it and will largely be viewed as failures. There should be most structure in place... more paid leagues... more cross training to help these guys find other forms of success. There should be more mentoring programs that would help these guys and also turn around and have these guys help the youth coming up. I'd feel better about ShoeCos if they took 10% of the money they squander on top tier talent and do more for the brotherhood.
Reminds me of a trip I had to Vegas with my father. We were driving by all the big casino signs showing names of jackpot "winners" and I mentioned all the names. My father replied, "you'll never see them acknowledge the names of all the players that really helped build their casinos (losers)!" No difference in the NBA.
The NBA... rightly named the "No Boys Allowed" league. At least college ball does open other doors. Players should finish their degrees and make a bunch of quality adult connections that will help them throughout their lives.
And how about the NCAA? The scrooges of college basketball could take all the revenues they make on former athletes and turn it back into the system. Build programs to help former college players integrate into a basketball and non-basketball career.
I can't believe this is July and we are getting such a great quality of posting in here!
Thumbs up, people!
I hope Andrew makes the best of whatever happens.
If he stays in Cleveland, he can learn a lot from James.
If he gets traded he should develop a chip to prove the critics wrong.
Either way, if he has his mind right, he'll be fine.
I'd just like to see him end up in SA with Coach Pop!
"I've seen enough basketball in my life to know that Love doesn't make you a championship team."
I'll second that!
Let's all get this straight. LeBron is pulling the strings at Cleveland. That was part of the deal to get him home and why you won't see LeBron settle into a long-term contract.
Love vs Wiggins
Rebounding vs Defense
Both elements are paramount, except you don't have a lot of rebounds when you don't have any defense. Just ask the Heat! I definitely will take defense over rebounding. Rebounding is easier to coach in some "team rebounding" to help reduce weaknesses.
If I was one young Andrew Wiggins, the easiest way to lift his stock is to start crashing the boards. There is no reason why he can't become a big-time rebounder. He will earn serious NBA minutes (and victories) if he only works hard on defense and rebounding. Let his offense come around at an organic speed. Eventually, his offense will catch up to his defense.
There are only two possibilities why Wiggins won't become a superstar in the league... first, injury. He doesn't seem prone to injury so the rest is mostly luck. Second, he gets put on bogus teams with bogus coaching that doesn't understand how to use Wiggins and they get him focused on the wrong things.
Andrew was setup well by Bill Self. Self recognized the correct path for Andrew to take. Andrew's offensive talent will come over time... lots of time... and like a good wine, it will be worth the wait and investment. But in order to buy time, Andrew has to offer enough game to keep him on the floor. Developing his defense was a faster path to developing a useful benefit. The next step should be rebounding. Rebounding is dead simple to learn, whether you are positioned in the paint or on the perimeter.
Trading Wiggins for Love would truly be for short-sighted reasons and would be a gigantic blunder. If Cleveland plays it smart, they will practice some patience and develop their talented stable of players into a cohesive unit. They also already hold future draft position to acquire more. Wiggins should be a franchise player unless he gets with idiots. If this setup doesn't work I would love to see him eventually end up at SA with the best coach in the league, Coach Pop.
I recently found this...
It would be nice to see college basketball included on this website.
But as it is now, it is fun to study all the current NBA Jayhawks. Check out this past season for Marcus Morris. His game is extremely predictable. Very hot from one side of the perimeter, ice cold from the other side. Clumps of shots at one spot in mid-range.... it appears he is being setup in plays to get his shot.
I see where I will be spending a great part of my day!
I'm not trying to make a mountain out of a mole hill. I just thought it was interesting how he worded it and he definitely is aware of the media-sensation Wiggins on board. It just seems he could have parsed his words differently.
I agree with @Crimsonorblue22 ... Self would have mentioned others, too. I recall he sung high praise for Jabari during the draft interviews.
I was just digging and trying to find something to chat about.
I don't think we are playing Duke in the preseason this year. Too bad. I thought our game with Duke this past year was one of our more-entertaining games and it was one of our better played games.
It would be nice to see our star recruits against theirs again. I would think this time Perry would stand out more as the guy with experience and talent.
It is summer... and sometimes in the summer it takes some digging to find something to talk about.
Here is my digging for today.
Coach K discussing the advice he gave to LeBron about deciding where to play:
“I hope that the main thing is he serves as an example of what a star player, what a great player does in order to develop his greatness and keep it going. For Kyrie to be around that on a day-to-day basis, really all the teammates, but especially Kyrie because he can be that level of player. He’s very fortunate to have that.”
Kind of seems he feels Kyrie's potential exceeds that of young Andrew's potential.
I'm not trying to come down on Kyrie or Coach K... Kyrie is a definite talent. But it seems like Coach K got away with one so I thought it deserved a mention, and I'm sure someone out there has something to say about it.
So think ahead 10 years... who will make the biggest impact, Kyrie or Andrew?
Might as well throw Jabari in there, too... Kyrie, Andrew or Jabari?
I'm practicing linking text and adding photos, etc...
I'm totally flexible with what you need to do and just appreciate that you've given us this opportunity!
I just love how every year someone makes a real ass out of themselves by proclaiming something that hasn't been done in 11 years.
It is a fun read to go to the comments of the above link and listen to all the big talkers. You can put all the talk in the world in a bucket and you still won't have enough change to buy a rope to hang yourself, but it turns out you don't need a rope to get the job done!
Someday we will lose the B12 regular season. I hope it is long after I'm dead and the roses on my grave have spread pasture to the neighboring section of land.
The B12 has decent competition and a few good coaches. My hats off to all of them for bringing their best game to AFH. The Mayor is at the top of my list, just under Bill. So keep talking OU, ISU and Texas. Keep talking and dreaming. And while you are at it, you better do some praying... praying that your silly comments fall on deaf ears in Larryville, because the last thing you should ever do is wake a sleeping Jayhawk. F&%k the sleeping bear!
Just imagine being a player in a sport where you get paid over $1mil for every goal you score?!
There is something to be said for a sport that truly cherishes every single goal.
I definitely enjoyed all the FIFA WC action.
I thought Man U was publicly owned? They sell stock on the big board... NYSE.
It took me a while to digest what Self said recently about not running a point guard, and that all the guards had to be capable of bringing up the ball.
At first, my old school dog inside of me went negative and I was thinking, "oh, oh.... we are actually going to be WORSE than the past years on the perimeter."
But after some thought, I feel like I have deciphered CS and what he meant.
He is doing something he should have done a long long time ago.
Deciphered Self message: "if you are a perimeter player and you want to come to Kansas, you better be able to handle the ball!"
It should have been the rule years ago. Our biggest Achilles' heel for years has been our inability to take care of the rock on the perimeter. We've been swimming upstream for years... trying to be more efficient on offense and defense to make up for the loss in possessions.
We may not have the next Derrick Rose at PG this coming year... but we shouldn't need one. We need to always have 3 guys out there on the perimeter who can dribble/pass out of trouble, as well as dribble/pass to score.
With the proliferation of perimeter players this coming year, we should start to dent away at our previous rep of not getting the job done on the perimeter. Gone will be the teams like Villanova who thinks they'll win by putting on high ball pressure. Those teams we will eat like candy, because with 3 capable perimeter players they will chew right through the high pressure, leaving nothing but easy scoring in the post.
The next big sell Self needs to make regards perimeter defense. We've been soft out there the last few years and that trend needs to turn around. We got spoiled having a shot blocker in the post to clean up all the bad guard defense, but that isn't the way to play well. The way to play well is to have guards that know how to keep their man in front of them and out of the paint. No perimeter shot should go up uncontested. And we should start getting our share of steals from the perimeter. This needs to become a top priority.... perimeter defense. We have plenty of athleticism and bodies to run outside. There is no reason why perimeter defense should be another Achilles' heel.
So if we can shore up the perimeter, we can start counting on players like Cliff and Perry winning the paint and giving us the edge on about anyone we face.
I was going for everyone's goat.
Wow!
LeBron just signed with Adidas!
http://www2.kusports.com/news/2014/jul/13/lebron_james_signs_nike_big_spoofarina/ ↗
I'm envious of all you guys who had the opportunity to meet Wooden! Meeting him or going to one of his clinics remained an illusive dream of mine through my youth and my summer days in Southern California.
I like the idea of performing more research in this area. I just think we are light years away from getting to the real answers. We may find some tweaks that will give us a competitive edge in the short run.
What bothers me (and has for years) is the total neglect all these people have towards nutrition and the development of nutritional planning for performance goals in the long run and up-to-the-minute needs.
Many of these kids are putting so much effort into their sport and making gigantic sacrifices and risks, but yet they'll munch down on candy before games. I remember reading that on KUsports a few years back. Munching candy before a game will create nasty blood-sugar spikes that will lead players to poor physical performances and mental crashes. They simply can not focus during a blood-sugar crash.
I look at the obvious here and it makes me back up and become more critical about some of these studies and their results. This subject matter is so complex that researchers can easily form a conclusion and work backwards to find the 'proof' they are looking for.
Over the past 10 years I have focused more of my energy towards nutrition, and I've shared some of my results in here. But also, in recent years I've had conversations with other retired athletes concerning nutrition and the guys who started practicing better diets all agree that if they could go back and replay their youth, they would put a great amount of focus on their diets. I definitely fall into that category and wonder what heights I could have reached had I put down the sugary energy bars, Gatorade and other junk.
" However if the Cavs keep Wiggins, with this Lebron decision. I will be buying a CAVS Jersey."
Me, too! It would be the first piece of NBA-licensed gear I ever bought!
http://store.nba.com/Cleveland_Cavaliers_Gear/Andrew_Wiggins_Cleveland_Cavaliers_adidas_2014_NBA_Draft_Number_1_Pick_Replica_Jersey_-_Wine ↗ ↗
“I would think for a guy like Andrew, to have the opportunity to play with arguably one of the best players of all time, and to learn from him and to be tutored by him and to play alongside him -- which he will -- I gotta think that's a tremendous boost to his confidence.” -- Cavaliers coach David Blatt
I just became a big Cavs fan!
Good move, LBJ. He doesn't have to play for money or for the fear of never winning a title.... He can now play for pure pride and a sense of belonging because he is truly playing at home.
Just look at the response in Miami... where is the "Heat" on LBJ for leaving? They just didn't have the connection to him like the State of Ohio does.
The Cavs should keep Wigs because he just became a much better player. LBJ will help him utilize his athleticism into being one of the greats. The Cavs should take a page out of UCONN basketball and go for an emphasis on x-axis basketball by keeping Wigs.
Right on! Loved the hammer down on Howard!
Sorry.... that was the one of the songs from the soundtrack on Natural Born Killers.
Wow... the clothes! How can we leave out the clothes from that time?!
Platform shoes... bell bottom pants... wild wild wild printed shirts...
I ran across a wild suit from my teens just a few years ago. It had to go to make room for the future, but it was hard to box it in with the rest of the stuff for Goodwill.
Women's clothes have always been imaginative... but what about the fellas' clothes today? The lumberjack look is kind of wearing on me.
Back in the 60s the guys had as much color and personality in their clothing as the gals had.
Seems the only thing remaining from that fashion period for men is the film clip of PeeWee Herman in the biker bar dancing in a pair of platforms.
Pity dat!
I'll say one thing... no one will wonder if Cliff can dunk during his freshman season at Kansas (like they did with the twins).
This is the reason why most of the big boys don't like to book home-and-home series.
I think I bore enough people already with my personal stories.
I will share another one about my father and how he impacted my life.
I was in elementary school when the Beatles landed on American soil and after the following summer, I adopted a "Beatle cut" (haircut by putting a bowl over your head and trimming around the bottom) and returned to school.
None of us realized it but at that time public schools in our town required boys to have a crew cut or shaved down flat top. The school sent me home.
My father worked 7 days a week, from the crack of dawn until late at night. He was always gone. He was also a big, very aggressive man with a horrible violent temper. When he heard the news he took my hand and we marched back to school. I'm not sure to what degree he threatened the principal's life..... but suddenly the hair restriction was lifted and I was allowed back in school. Other boys then proceeded to let their hair grow and hair freedom was a new reality in our neck of the woods.
Events like that helped shape me, both good and bad. But I always felt like he had my back and it gave me confidence moving forward. And when I needed to make a decision by myself, I felt like I should decide carefully and not make knee-jerk decisions.
"No personal offense intended, but that kid has been on a bad decision roll for quite some time. This is yet another, as he fades into obscurity."
I'm not disagreeing with you.
I didn't have a father around in day-to-day stuff, but he was around for the big things and when I needed my butt kicked and straightened out, I got it.
It seems like Naa doesn't have that kind of guidance. He seems like a young man who doesn't have anyone or the right person guiding him at this crucial time in his life.
I see it as tragic and I hope Naadir finds help going forward.
Since it is garden time, I've been thinking outside the box... I mean... inside the garden box:
http://98clothing.com/en/t-shirts/1734-ninety-eight-folk-you.htm ↗ ↗
I wonder how long it takes to arrive from Poland?
"Adidas has a long way to go to catch up to Nike, which owns an astounding 95 percent of the basketball shoe-market share (Jordan: 58 percent; Nike: 37 percent) in the United States, according to market retail tracking firm SportsOneSource. Adidas has a 3 percent share."
Took awhile, but I finally found that 2nd grader's winning graphic:
'Plan B' should be to organize some kind of protest.
Start by creating a protest group. Gather members and start a group identity.
Then organize methods for gaining attention for the cause. Guilty parties are exposed and will face harsh criticism if they don't resolve the issue.
Without creating something for them to lose (credibility, PR), they have no motivation to fix this. Last year, they quickly accepted the outcome without blinking. They were too busy patting themselves on the back for accomplishing the media contract.
"This Diatribe should start early."
Right on!
I am of the opinion this has not been dealt with, so all those impacted (including all those who are not impacted) should start beating the drums now, while there is still time to create a fix for the Jayhawk Nation.
We can start by addressing this positively so it creates an opportunity for those in charge to be heroes and rewarded with positive praise.
If that doesn't work there is always 'Plan B'.
Seriously? Without our kryptonite (Google)?
Guess I meant to say 'blue kryptonite'!
Okay... okay... I cheated and Wiki'd 'kryptonite'! You didn't say we couldn't use Wikipedia.
I'm a complete oaf without reference capabilities.
I'm going to say we beat the Salvation Army B-Team in 1906 with 243 points (against 41). The game came down to the wire... literally... a wire came in instructing all the players for the Salv to man a bell and hit local Macy stores for Santa donations. The game was tied 39-39 up to that point when the Army was left with only 3 players which consisted of the 69 yr old coach and two assistants, 13 and 14 years of age.
This was one of the few games Naismith felt sure of a victory in the final moments of the game.
"Pay Heed, All Who Enter: Beware of the Phog" came later.... decades later. "Pay Heed, All Who Enter: Beware of the Bell" was the banner flown on the brand new Robinson Gymnasium (Jayhawk venue) in 1907 as a prank because of the massive beat down handed to the Salvation Army in the previous year. There were stories that the bells would return to avenge the loss so the warning on the building was aimed at future Kansas teams (and fans) not their opponents.
This story is almost completely true!
@jaybate 1.0
"P.S.: Suggested UNC cheer--"Litigate, Tar Heels, litigate!""
Is that a dark cloud I see hanging over Chapel Hill?
What is about to go down?
A. Hurricane
B. Flood
C. Tornado
D. All of the above
I really don't get it.
We complained about school costs back in my day. But I was able to work a job while going to school and didn't take a loan. That would hardly be possible today because of the steep costs.
I do understand that there must be crazy costs around keeping a university open, but it still seems ridiculously high.
What I wonder... all the online universities. Those will surely take a big chunk out of the big brick and mortar schools soon... especially as they gain more accreditation.
I was told that the one thing America has that other countries can't replicate is our college system. We definitely attract a higher percentage of foreign students than ever before.
It seems that our universities are filling with all the "financially elite" students from around the world and so even hard working Americans will have a hard time buying into a college education.
I have always believed that we must do whatever is in our powers to educate more of our population. It feels like we are going in the wrong direction.
@714hawk - All good points.
I watched the '60 Minutes' interview with Malcolm Gladwell Sunday and he discussed how ridiculous the tuition was at some of the American Universities... I think he mentioned Harvard costing 10-times what it cost to attend university in Canada. He raised a valid point... "is the education at Harvard 10-times better than what is available in Canada?"
That's an understatement!
I think he's at a pretty perfect size now. I'd love to see him stick it out at 6'8"... a perfect size for a swing-2. As long as he has the hops and moves, he'll create his own scoring space on anyone.... I care more about that than if he gains more height.
Garden should be great... but I classify it as only good. Having too many rabbits this year. I'm in full-blown rabbit lock-down now. Here is what I'm doing to repel our furry friends:
-
Peeing on the nearby tree.
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Fresh coffee grounds around my plants.
-
Now and then throw down a few small pieces of meat (table scraps) around the perimeter of my garden. Any kind of meat or blood is supposed to repel rabbits. Obviously, I don't want too much or I'll start attracting other garden friends.
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Spray all plants with a solution including garlic and cayenne pepper.
Today I'll spray the plants and will be done with all four steps. I hope that does the trick!
I've been spoiled before this year. My neighbor has a huge hawk nest in one of her trees and that kept all critters away, but for some reason the hawks didn't return this year so we have an overflow of rabbits and squirrels. The squirrels wouldn't allow me to plant flower bulbs this year. They dug them up and then left the bulbs right there at the hole. I guess they didn't like the taste. So I replanted them and the next day... same thing... they were all dug up!
We could call ourselves "Big IX1/2" (Big 9 1/2). The Horny Frogs at TCU only have a student body of 9000. They should be classified as "1/2".... however... they almost match Kansas endowments, so maybe I should keep my mouth shut!
I was looking online... Texas has more than $17-billion in endowments! That is more than 10x what Kansas has. I guess it is because of their size and being surrounded by all that oil money.
I'm so happy for you to have this opportunity!
Crete is really a big island, so leave yourself time to experience it. It feels more like a country apart from Greece. Cretan people are very different from Greek people. Language differs and they are a more-rambunctious people. If you are a nature buff, make sure and plan a walk through the Samaria Gorge... very nice!
I like the southern part of Crete... less tourism because they don't have an east-west highway, but you can move in those directions often by boat.
So much to see... the Lasithi Plateau is beautiful.. you'll need to rent a car to do Crete the right way. Buses are a big hassle. If you just want a short trip you can bargain with taxis, too. Many of the northern harbor towns are Venetian architecture... quite stunning!
I agree... it is unlikely we'll see a name change because it is costly in so many ways.
Plus... Change the number and then in a few years teams leave again and you are right back to having the same problem.
I know a name that is available... The Big 8!
@jaybate 1.0
Or... just keep the clock moving an add "extra time" at the end of each half! (like soccer)
Imagine that? End of the game, the clock goes to zero and we are down by 5 because we couldn't close the gap in time and then they chunk on 5 minutes of extra play!