# Bulls fine F Thomas $10,000, TT in Dunk Contest (merged threads)



## Ron Cey (Dec 27, 2004)

*TT in Dunk Contest*

TT
Dwight Howard
Nate Robinson
Gerald Green

http://www.realgm.com/src_wiretap_a...homas_and_green_to_join_nate_in_dunk_contest/


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## nitric (Dec 14, 2006)

*Tyrus Thomas participating in the Dunk Contest!*

http://www.nba.com/allstar2007/news/sprite_samdunk_070205.html

NEW YORK, Feb. 5, 2007 – New York’s Nate Robinson will defend his crown in the 2007 Sprite Slam Dunk competition to be held on NBA All-Star Saturday Night presented by EA SPORTS™, Feb. 17 at Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. Robinson will compete against three first-time entrants – Boston’s Gerald Green, who is an alumnus of the NBA Development League, Orlando’s Dwight Howard and Chicago’s Tyrus Thomas – for this year’s title.

Yeah!:yay:


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## ExtremeBrigs (Jul 20, 2006)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*

Oooh... you beat me to it! I was just getting set to post this link:

http://www.nba.com/bulls/news/thomas_dunk_070205.html

Tyrus deserves to be there, I think, but is there any chance this is a makeup call for snubbing out all the rest of the team for the rookie game and main event? Any chance we'll see Ben Gordon in the three-point contest, where he belongs?

Either way, I'm glad to have a little extra incentive to watch the contest this year, though I think the money has to be with Gerald Green right now. Kid's got hops and serious body control.

Dwight Howard I don't get (when have big guys ever been that exciting in this thing?), but I suppose we'll see about that, too.

Congrats, Tyrus!


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## ExtremeBrigs (Jul 20, 2006)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*

Also noteable--looks like MJ is a judge!


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## Ron Cey (Dec 27, 2004)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*

It'll be the most floor time Tyrus has gotten all season. Even if he's eliminated in the first round.


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## eymang (Dec 15, 2006)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*

Ughh, I know he won it last year (a joke) but not Nate again!


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## mizenkay (Dec 29, 2003)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*

apparently all the "defending" champs are REQUIRED by law (the CBA) to attend. thus, nate.

tyrus will rock this contest. i think it's awesome he got the nod. i can just imagine the outright scowl of dissaproval/disgust on skiles' face when he heard the news. like, pffft.

so just for that, *you go tyrus!! *

:rock:


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## Ron Cey (Dec 27, 2004)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*



eymang said:


> Ughh, I know he won it last year (a joke) but not Nate again!


Nate Robinson is my least favorite player in the entire league. And, in my opinion, succeeded in making last year's slam dunk contest the most boring in history - he of the dozen or so attempts to pull off a dunk.


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## Knick Killer (Jul 16, 2006)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*

Im disappointed with the selections. Other than Gerlald Green and Dwight Howard im not impressed. (no offense chicago fans)


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## Ruff Draft (Nov 21, 2004)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*

Tyrus or Gerald are going to win. Dwight is a monster but he's got no hangtime!


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## eymang (Dec 15, 2006)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*

Didn't read the article, but Dan Patrick said the judges are Dr. J, MJ, Dominique, Kobe, and Vince Carter


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## mizenkay (Dec 29, 2003)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*

http://www.nba.com/allstar2007/news/sprite_samdunk_070205.html




> *There are two rule changes for this year’s competition:* Upon receiving the ball from the referee, players will have a *two-minute time limit to complete their dunk.* If a player hasn’t completed a dunk when the two-minute clock expires, he will have two more attempts to do so. Also new this year is the use of television instant replay, at the discretion of the referee, for clarification of rules compliance.


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## kulaz3000 (May 3, 2006)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*



mizenkay said:


> http://www.nba.com/allstar2007/news/sprite_samdunk_070205.html


With all these new rules, it seems like the dunk contest is in a little ditch once again. As it seems also, its a very uninspiring choice of contestents.. 

Only player that should been in the contest or deserving is Green, and probably Robinson just because he won it last year. But TT and Howard are unusual choices... there are better high fliers out there.

I guess im just not a big fan of big men in dunk contests, because they are limited in what they can do. But i would love to see TT bring the trophy back to Chicago...


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## ExtremeBrigs (Jul 20, 2006)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*

I would think that of anybody in this draft class, Rudy Gay would be the guy (though I'm pleased as punch a Bull is involved with the All-Star game in some reputable fashion--I'm not counting Ben Gordon unless he gets into the three-point contest).

The kid that (barely) plays for San Antonio would've been amazing. I remember watching his free-throw line windmills and other such freakish dunks at last year's NCAA contest when he was with Cinci. White? Is that his name?


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## Darius Miles Davis (Aug 2, 2002)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*



ExtremeBrigs said:


> I would think that of anybody in this draft class, Rudy Gay would be the guy (though I'm pleased as punch a Bull is involved with the All-Star game in some reputable fashion--I'm not counting Ben Gordon unless he gets into the three-point contest).
> 
> The kid that (barely) plays for San Antonio would've been amazing. I remember watching his free-throw line windmills and other such freakish dunks at last year's NCAA contest when he was with Cinci. White? Is that his name?


Seriously, what in the world is the NBA thinking by not including James White in the dunk contest? We're talking about an MJ/Vince quality dunker.

Really stupid.

And a 6' 11" guy? That's just no fun.


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## step (Sep 19, 2005)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*



> White? Is that his name?


Yes, James White.



> Does the thought of two 7-footers in the dunk contest work for you? Orlando's Dwight Howard is already in and I'm told that the Bobcats -- when they're not trying to extract $3 million from teams that want to use their cap space to facilitate three-team deals -- are urging the league to invite rookie center Ryan Hollins.
> 
> My sources in the dunk community say Hollins can dunk from the free-throw line off a two-footed jump, which ain't something you see every day. Bobcats teammate Emeka Okafor, meanwhile, reports that Hollins has "make-believe" vertical ability.


Heck, that has to be seen to believed.


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## lgtwins (May 18, 2004)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*

I am afraid he is going to embarrass himself in the competition. Have you guys seen anything other than two hands dunk from TT all season long? So he can jump really high but winning a dunk competition? I don't know.

I will be tuning in to see him, though.


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## JRose5 (May 4, 2003)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*

Has Howard (or Thomas for that matter as well) shown any kind of creative dunk ability?
I'm just asking, I don't see many Magic games, but being a PF / Center, he probably has alot of dunks but I can't imagine anything too athletic or creative on planned dunks. I've seen some clips of some pretty cool putback dunks by him, but it seems like a strange choice.


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## mizenkay (Dec 29, 2003)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*

not terribly creative here, but still awesome.

<object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/9RbV50jyyuY"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/9RbV50jyyuY" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>


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## Darius Miles Davis (Aug 2, 2002)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*

Let's look at it this way. Maybe now we'll find out if Tyrus can actually:

A) palm the ball

and/or

B) dunk one handed


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## Bullsky (Jun 11, 2006)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*

When was the last time Chicago had someone in the Dunk Contest?

Finally, I have a bull to root for. Tyrus looks like a favorite to win, IMO.


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## Darius Miles Davis (Aug 2, 2002)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*



Bullsky said:


> Tyrus looks like a favorite to win, IMO.


Not even close. Nate Robinson will be the favorite because he's the champ and because he's mini. Next I'd say would be Gerald Green, who has more body control in the air than Tyrus, from what I've seen. Bigger guys have a major aesthetic disadvantage, IMO, so Howard and Thomas will be underdogs for sure.


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## ScottMay (Jun 15, 2002)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*



Darius Miles Davis said:


> Not even close. Nate Robinson will be the favorite because he's the champ and because he's mini. Next I'd say would be Gerald Green, who has more body control in the air than Tyrus, from what I've seen. Bigger guys have a major aesthetic disadvantage, IMO, so Howard and Thomas will be underdogs for sure.


The only way Howard will win is if he comes up with a dunk in which he rips the stanchion out of the arena floor and swings the whole basket apparatus over his head like he's Godzilla.


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## RoRo (Aug 21, 2002)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*



Darius Miles Davis said:


> Not even close. Nate Robinson will be the favorite because he's the champ and because he's mini. Next I'd say would be Gerald Green, who has more body control in the air than Tyrus, from what I've seen. Bigger guys have a major aesthetic disadvantage, IMO, so Howard and Thomas will be underdogs for sure.


yeah it's more impressive if a little guy can do something fancy. doesn't even matter if he dunks it with authority or just barely makes it. big guys make it look easy, well because they're big. and dunking for power doesn't really score well with judges so howard and tyrus need to be really creative to win.


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## jbulls (Aug 31, 2005)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*



Darius Miles Davis said:


> Seriously, what in the world is the NBA thinking by not including James White in the dunk contest? We're talking about an MJ/Vince quality dunker.
> 
> Really stupid.
> 
> And a 6' 11" guy? That's just no fun.


They were probably thinking that they'd like James White to actually play a minute in an NBA game before they go putting him in the NBA All-Star dunk contest. I know the dunk contest isn't attracting marquee names anymore but inviting high-flying NBDL'ers to participate would be a new low.


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## Darius Miles Davis (Aug 2, 2002)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*



jbulls said:


> They were probably thinking that they'd like James White to actually play a minute in an NBA game before they go putting him in the NBA All-Star dunk contest. I know the dunk contest isn't attracting marquee names anymore but inviting high-flying NBDL'ers to participate would be a new low.


So no minutes for James White is that much better than 2.5 minutes for Tyrus Thomas? I see what you're saying, but the NBA should realize that they have a major asset in James White. A good slam dunk competition gets talked about for years. White may not deserve playing time yet or ever, but he's one of the best dunkers in the NBA, and people should be able to see what he can do. Honestly, Tyrus Thomas and Dwight Howard are poor choices, IMO. We'll see if they can prove me wrong.

I'd much rather a field of:

Nate
Gerald Green
James White
Iguodala

I'd love to see Iggy school Mini Me and actually get scored accordingly as opposed to getting robbed like he did last year in that farce.


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## jbulls (Aug 31, 2005)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*



Darius Miles Davis said:


> So no minutes for James White is that much better than 2.5 minutes for Tyrus Thomas? I see what you're saying, but the NBA should realize that they have a major asset in James White. A good slam dunk competition gets talked about for years. White may not deserve playing time yet or ever, but he's one of the best dunkers in the NBA, and people should be able to see what he can do. Honestly, Tyrus Thomas and Dwight Howard are poor choices, IMO. We'll see if they can prove me wrong.
> 
> I'd much rather a field of:
> 
> ...


Tyrus Thomas doesn't play 2.5 minutes a game, he plays 10. Let me stress this again : James White has never played in an NBA game. Never. Zero minutes. He's been on an NBA roster for a total of 8 days this season. Inviting him to participate would be totally weird and not in keeping with the spirit of the competition. People watch the NBA dunk contest to see actual NBA players dunk.


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## Darius Miles Davis (Aug 2, 2002)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*



jbulls said:


> Tyrus Thomas doesn't play 2.5 minutes a game, he plays 10. Let me stress this again : James White has never played in an NBA game. Never. Zero minutes. He's been on an NBA roster for a total of 8 days this season. Inviting him to participate would be totally weird and not in keeping with the spirit of the competition. People watch the NBA dunk contest to see actual NBA players dunk.


BTW, I meant 2.5 minutes not a true stat, but an indication of a player who plays very little. 

I certainly see where you're coming from, but I still want to see White, playing time or no playing time.


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## JeremyB0001 (Nov 17, 2003)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*

I don't consider myself a dunk afficianado but I don't particularly understand the skepticism about Tyrus' ability to dunk creatively. Sure he hasn't done any crazy dunks in games but don't you think Skiles would run out on the court and strangle him if he did? One of the papers wrote last week that players were egging him on to try different types of dunks in practice one day. The guy is not a big man in the same sense as Howard. He's only 6'9 and the way that he gets off the ground looks pretty incredible in games even when he's just trying to flush it home two handed. I've been talking him up as a candidate since the first few weeks of the season so I'm pretty optimistic.


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## jnrjr79 (Apr 18, 2003)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*



ScottMay said:


> The only way Howard will win is if he comes up with a dunk in which he rips the stanchion out of the arena floor and swings the whole basket apparatus over his head like he's Godzilla.



I'd pay to see that!


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## The ROY (Nov 11, 2004)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*



Darius Miles Davis said:


> Seriously, what in the world is the NBA thinking by not including James White in the dunk contest? We're talking about an MJ/Vince quality dunker.
> 
> Really stupid.


May go down as the worst snub in All-star weekend HISTORY


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## RagingBulls316 (Feb 15, 2004)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune...sbits,1,3172483.story?coll=cs-bulls-headlines


> Asked if he were excited about becoming the first Bull since Scottie Pippen in 1990 to participate in the event as part of All-Star weekend, Thomas barely looked up from untying his shoes.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That's a pretty poor attitude to have.


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## Darius Miles Davis (Aug 2, 2002)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*

Thomas has been pretty good with the media since that fateful Draft Express interview. Looks like he just had a relapse.


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## RSP83 (Nov 24, 2002)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*



RagingBulls316 said:


> http://chicagosports.chicagotribune...sbits,1,3172483.story?coll=cs-bulls-headlines
> 
> 
> That's a pretty poor attitude to have.


He's lobbying Skiles for more minutes or he saw Skiles on the right corner of his eyes giving him a look. That explains why he just kept staring at his shoe laces. The Horror!!


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## Salvaged Ship (Jul 10, 2002)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*

Instead of the slam dunk contest I would actually like to see him get in a game for more than 4 minutes. Send Brown to the pine and put Thomas in the starting line up. Don't care if he fouls out. The guy has shown flashes, and we need him. I know this is an old story, but the kid needs time on the court. And I have not seen his play as being a negative when he is in there. On occasions, yes. but that is true with every player. I think we play some of our best defense when he is in and on his game. 

I am sick of PJ Brown at the expense of this kid's minutes. Can I see us going deep into the playoffs if Thomas develops quickly and gives us the blocks and boards he is capable of? Yes. Can I see us going far in the playoffs with Brown playing 30 minutes a game? No way.

Heck, Thomas participating in the dunk contest will probably piss Skiles off even more. Skiles obviously has it in for the kid, and Thabo too.


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## lgtwins (May 18, 2004)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*



JeremyB0001 said:


> I don't consider myself a dunk afficianado but I don't particularly understand the skepticism about Tyrus' ability to dunk creatively. Sure he hasn't done any crazy dunks in games but don't you think Skiles would run out on the court and strangle him if he did? One of the papers wrote last week that players were egging him on to try different types of dunks in practice one day. The guy is not a big man in the same sense as Howard. He's only 6'9 and the way that he gets off the ground looks pretty incredible in games even when he's just trying to flush it home two handed. I've been talking him up as a candidate since the first few weeks of the season so I'm pretty optimistic.


All the dunks he made in college day is pretty much the same running two-hands dunks. I haven't seen any other spectacular dunks from TT. In college days or NBA. 

There is only so much fun to watch someone jump HIGH and dunk with TWO HANDS. 

He is not going to win it.


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## spongyfungy (Oct 22, 2003)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*

I doubt Tyrus wins it and it's disappointing to hear that he's just there to cash a check. I think Gerald will win it and they probably will talk about the finger. Rodney Carney should have entered.


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## ExtremeBrigs (Jul 20, 2006)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*

I can just see TT's face when he answered those questions about the dunk contest. My guess is he was totally uninterested in having that conversation at the time, and did whatever was necessary to end it quickly. He just doesn't like to say much, that's all. He's a really funny, good guy, and I'm sure that as things get closer he'll get a little more excited about it. But we'll see.

Oh, that Tyrus


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## mizenkay (Dec 29, 2003)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*

someone needs to take that boy aside and slap him upside his head. you're representing chicago *******. 

i think tyrus has a bad case of entitlement or something. really discouraging to hear his attitude in that interview.

what a punk.


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## MikeDC (Jul 16, 2002)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*

LOL, No-tippin Pippen really has been tutoring Tyrus! :laugh:


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## Ron Cey (Dec 27, 2004)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*



> "Not really," Thomas said. "I'm just going to go out there, get my check and call it a day."
> 
> Asked if an opportunity to rub elbows with some of the game's greats could be beneficial for a rookie, Thomas kept unlacing.
> 
> "I'm just into the free money," he said. "That's it. I'll just do whatever when I get out there."


Good grief. Shut. Your. Mouth.


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## TomBoerwinkle#1 (Jul 31, 2002)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*

Super Freak! Super Freak! He's Super Freeakky!

Doooo doo doo DO doo DO doo doooo (Can't Touch This).


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## ScottMay (Jun 15, 2002)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*



mizenkay said:


> someone needs to take that boy aside and slap him upside his head. you're representing chicago *******.
> 
> i think tyrus has a bad case of entitlement or something. really discouraging to hear his attitude in that interview.
> 
> what a punk.


Don't worry -- 1997 Walter J. Kennedy Citizenship Award winner P.J. Brown will get this all straightened out in the next 45-60 days.


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## JeremyB0001 (Nov 17, 2003)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*



lgtwins said:


> All the dunks he made in college day is pretty much the same running two-hands dunks. I haven't seen any other spectacular dunks from TT. In college days or NBA.
> 
> There is only so much fun to watch someone jump HIGH and dunk with TWO HANDS.
> 
> He is not going to win it.


Yeah except my point was that I don't see how you can judge the creativity and versatility of a player's dunking skills in a game setting. I suppose that if you have a fast break and there's no one near you, a flashy dunk might be possible but I haven't seen Tyrus in that situation often and I'm not sure Skiles would tolerate that type of display. I don't really know much about John Brady but much like Tyrus is a rookie fighting for minutes this season he was a redshirt freshman who started last season coming off the bench for LSU. It's not a good idea to have a one-handed dunk blocked in either situation when you could easily use two hands. I realize that Tyson Chandler can't palm a basketball but most NBA players can.


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## JeremyB0001 (Nov 17, 2003)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*



ExtremeBrigs said:


> I can just see TT's face when he answered those questions about the dunk contest. My guess is he was totally uninterested in having that conversation at the time, and did whatever was necessary to end it quickly. He just doesn't like to say much, that's all. He's a really funny, good guy, and I'm sure that as things get closer he'll get a little more excited about it. But we'll see.
> 
> Oh, that Tyrus


Hehe. It may have been right after Skiles responded to Noc's injury by hitting Tyrus with a DNP.


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## TripleDouble (Jul 26, 2002)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*

Why are people bashing Thomas for those comments? The dunk contest is a pretty pointless exhibition.


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## RoRo (Aug 21, 2002)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*

no need to over analyze tyrus' comments. if thomas even suggests that he's practicing a couple dunks for the competition skiles will have him racking up the dnp's for the rest of the season.


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## ScottMay (Jun 15, 2002)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*



TripleDouble said:


> Why are people bashing Thomas for those comments? The dunk contest is a pretty pointless exhibition.


So are ribbon-cutting ceremonies at community gardens, buffet lunches with senior citizens, winter coat drives at the United Center, or any number of the odd and inane things that are expected of NBA players.

Problem is, stuff you don't want to do is a big part of the job description, and pretty fair game, imo, for the dollar figures involved. Furthermore, it actually is an honor to be asked to participate in any of the All-Star Weekend events. The dunk contest has a checkered recent past, but it sure wasn't that way not too long ago.

Giving sullen, spoiled-brat responses straight out of the J.R. Rider Playbook isn't exactly what I'm looking for from one of the long-term linchpins of the franchise (allegedly). Let's just hope Jerry West didn't catch wind of it.

* Note: if "I'm just showing up for the money" is a Cajun/Creole derived phrase for "I am totally looking forward to this and thrilled beyond belief", my apologies to Tyrus. I haven't gotten an update lately on how much Louisiana P.J. Brown has gotten out of him.


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## TripleDouble (Jul 26, 2002)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*



ScottMay said:


> So are ribbon-cutting ceremonies at community gardens, buffet lunches with senior citizens, winter coat drives at the United Center, or any number of the odd and inane things that are expected of NBA players.
> 
> Problem is, stuff you don't want to do is a big part of the job description, and pretty fair game, imo, for the dollar figures involved. Furthermore, it actually is an honor to be asked to participate in any of the All-Star Weekend events. The dunk contest has a checkered recent past, but it sure wasn't that way not too long ago.
> 
> ...


He certainly could have answered more tactfully, but if he is speaking the truth, I'm encouraged that he does not take dunk exhibitions very seriously.


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## johnston797 (May 29, 2002)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*



mizenkay said:


> someone needs to take that boy aside and slap him upside his head. you're representing chicago *******.
> 
> i think tyrus has a bad case of entitlement or something. really discouraging to hear his attitude in that interview.
> 
> what a punk.


At least he has a great work ethic. Way beyond Chandler and Curry. 

As so many posters have told me. :biggrin:


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## narek (Jul 29, 2005)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*

KC reported a couple of weeks ago that TT was practicing for this already. Was TT making a very bad joke?


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## JeremyB0001 (Nov 17, 2003)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*



narek said:


> KC reported a couple of weeks ago that TT was practicing for this already. Was TT making a very bad joke?


K.C. does not give the impression he was joking but it is almost too absurd to take at all seriously. First place is barely 1% of his salary for the season.


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## ScottMay (Jun 15, 2002)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*



JeremyB0001 said:


> K.C. does not give the impression he was joking but it is almost too absurd to take at all seriously. First place is barely 1% of his salary for the season.


I don't think the bonus for winning an NBA title is that much, either.

Put that on your to-do list, P.J. Brown! "Must sell TT on the idea of non-monetary intangibles."


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## McBulls (Apr 28, 2005)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*

What are the ratings for the dunk contest? Is anybody making money off of this sad exhibition? The NBA should find other ways to market it's product. 

How about 1 on 1 or 2 on 2 halfcourt competitions instead. At least that is basketball as it's played on many playgrounds.


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## JRose5 (May 4, 2003)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*



ScottMay said:


> Put that on your to-do list, P.J. Brown! "Must sell TT on the idea of non-monetary intangibles."



:laugh:


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## narek (Jul 29, 2005)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*

Pax wasn't too happy with that comment:

http://www.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/44581/20070206/free_money_comment_costs_thomas/

Press Release - 
Chicago Bulls Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations John Paxson has levied a $10,000 fine on Bulls rookie forward Tyrus Thomas for his comments after being selected to participate in the 2007 Sprite Slam Dunk competition to be held on NBA All-Star Saturday Night presented by EA Sports on Feb. 17 in Las Vegas. 

“This fine is an appropriate response to the remarks Tyrus made concerning his participation in the Slam Dunk Contest. It is a poor reflection on Tyrus individually and a poor reflection on the Bulls organization and I am certainly disappointed,” stated Paxson. 

“The league office has chosen Tyrus to participate in one of its premiere All-Star events and that is an honor that should be accepted with humility. I spoke to Tyrus this morning and am confident he understands that he made a mistake with his words and that he also understands the importance of representing the Bulls and the NBA in a positive way.”


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## johnston797 (May 29, 2002)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*

Oh boy, Headband-gate and now 2007-Sprite-Slam-Dunk-competition-gate. 

Well, the bulls are rarely boring.


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## MikeDC (Jul 16, 2002)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*

Spare the rod and spoil the child!


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## Ron Cey (Dec 27, 2004)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*

He deserves the fine. Immature mistake. Lets just hope it isn't an overt sign of a covert problem.


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## theanimal23 (Mar 2, 2005)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*

Lets hope this isn't the way he thinks about playing for his first big contract only.

I wish the NBA was the NFL when it came to contracts and All-Star considerations. Players like Shaq should not be in. You deserve to get in by merit/number of games played.

You earn your money in the NFL. In the NBA, you are paid to be tall (big men), not skilled and being tall.


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## MikeDC (Jul 16, 2002)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*



johnston797 said:


> Oh boy, Headband-gate and now 2007-Sprite-Slam-Dunk-competition-gate.
> 
> Well, the bulls are rarely boring.


On that note, how much did Ben Wallace get fined for in-game insubordination?

Just checking


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## rwj333 (Aug 10, 2002)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*

:rotf: 

I thought Tyrus' comments were a reflection of Skiles' general stance on the All-Star Game. The "I'm not a big fan of such events" attitude. Tyrus did not want to be outwardly excited about a contest that his coach doesn't care for. My perception is that Tyrus is likely excited about being able to compete-- why practice trick dunks after practice? 

Maybe Tyrus took it too far?


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## TripleDouble (Jul 26, 2002)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*

This fine seems to be in direct contradiction with what Paxson has been thought to be trying to instill in his team -- a no-nonsense attitude and the rejection of flash over substance.


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## mizenkay (Dec 29, 2003)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*



> “This fine is an appropriate response to the remarks Tyrus made concerning his participation in the Slam Dunk Contest. It is a poor reflection on Tyrus individually and a poor reflection on the Bulls organization and I am certainly disappointed,” stated Paxson.
> 
> “The league office has chosen Tyrus to participate in one of its premiere All-Star events and that is an honor that should be accepted with humility.



i'm sorry but...


_*LMAO!*_


tyrus, you FOOL, plus now you just know the commentators on TNT will get on you for it too. 

seriously, is there no one on the team who has taken this kid under his wing and said this is how it goes son? hey big ben, (and yes, scott, PJ) i'm talking to you.

and don't give me any bull**** about tyson or eddy in this thread, mmkay?? they're not on this team anymore. deal with it.


----------



## johnston797 (May 29, 2002)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*



mizenkay said:


> and don't give me any bull**** about tyson or eddy in this thread, mmkay?? they're not on this team anymore. deal with it.


I guess this was directed at me. I just find it ironic that I was told by the Pax-uberites that TT had jib and work ethic unlike the Twin Towers. The dude has the same incompleteness that they did IMHO. Young, dumb and full of you know what. Did I hit too close to home for you, Miz?


----------



## eymang (Dec 15, 2006)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*

The fine seems like a joke to me, but Tyrus comes off as a tool in his interview as well. I could care less about the dunk contest, but he always seems to have that kind of uninterested attitude, I don't know. Maybe it's an act or he just doesn't like the media, but I've made it a point to listen to a lot of his interviews since drafted, and this is pretty much how he's sounded like on all of them. In other words, radio show producers, don't go to him


----------



## MikeDC (Jul 16, 2002)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*



johnston797 said:


> I guess this was directed at me. I just find it ironic that I was told by the Pax-uberites that TT had jib and work ethic unlike the Twin Towers. The dude has the same incompleteness that they did IMHO. Young, dumb and full of you know what. Did I hit too close to home for you, Miz?


I dunno, but I'm emailing this to John Paxson:



> *Up next? DNA personality tests.* Paul quotes Dean Hamer, a geneticist at the National Institutes of Health: “I can imagine a day when people will be selling that…the genetic personality tests will contain about just as much voodoo science as the current ones do.” (And will probably be as depressingly pervasive.)


:lol:


----------



## Ron Cey (Dec 27, 2004)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*



MikeDC said:


> On that note, how much did Ben Wallace get fined for in-game insubordination?
> 
> Just checking


What is the answer to that question? Because you may have just made an excellent point.


----------



## MikeDC (Jul 16, 2002)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*



Ron Cey said:


> What is the answer to that question? Because you may have just made an excellent point.


I'm not sure or I wouldn't have asked. I'd imagine he got fined, but a quick Google search didn't find any specific statement that he was, or for how much. At the very least, they didn't issue a press release within hours of the incident.


----------



## mizenkay (Dec 29, 2003)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*



johnston797 said:


> I guess this was directed at me. I just find it ironic that I was told by the Pax-uberites that TT had jib and work ethic unlike the Twin Towers. The dude has the same incompleteness that they did IMHO. Young, dumb and full of you know what. Did I hit too close to home for you, Miz?



you know what? it kinda was. _indirectly._

:biggrin:


maybe i'm an idiot, but i don't understand why tyson or eddy, or whether a person likes/hates pax, has to be even brought into it - or what it has to do with the fact that tyrus put his foot in his mouth big time and now he's literally paying the price.

work ethic, IMHO, has nothing to do with it. a person can be a hard worker and still be a boob.


----------



## spongyfungy (Oct 22, 2003)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*

KC was on with Silverman and Defalco and said that he felt bad for Tyrus and he tried his best to give him an out because he knew it would get him in trouble. KC also says there's more in tommorow's trib.


----------



## ez8o5 (Aug 22, 2002)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*

Gerald Greens gonna win it but i think ty thomas is 2nd in line to win it cuz Nate just doesnt have anything left, remember spud webb the 2nd time he entered a dunk contest, it got old fast. and Dwight Howard is just a weird choice, why not someone like Rudy Gay,Rodney Carney,Hassan Adams, or Shannon Brown


----------



## RagingBulls316 (Feb 15, 2004)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*

I wish Pax would have fined him the $16,125 you get for 3rd and 4th place and made him earn the free money if he wants it.


----------



## mw2889 (Dec 15, 2005)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*

I don't know about you guys, but if I were fined for some "bull"S*** like this that would probably make me at least a little less likely to resign with the team. Paxson should have just kept his mouth shut and let the situation die out. The kid was being honest.


----------



## DaBullz (Jul 15, 2002)

SACRAMENTO, California (Ticker) - Some of the "free money" Tyrus
Thomas was counting on already has been spoken for.

Thomas, the rookie forward of the Chicago Bulls, was fined
$10,000 by the team Tuesday for belittling his invitation to the
Slam Dunk Contest at NBA All-Star Weekend.

"This fine is an appropriate response to the remarks Tyrus made
concerning his participation in the Slam Dunk Contest," Bulls
vice president John Paxson said. "It is a poor reflection on
Tyrus individually and a poor reflection on the Bulls
organization and I am certainly disappointed."

On Monday, the NBA announced that the 20-year-old Thomas would
join Orlando's Dwight Howard, Boston's Gerald Green and
defending champion Nate Robinson of New York in the annual event
to be held February 17 at Thomas & Mack Arena in Las Vegas.

When asked if he was excited about competing, Thomas told the
Chicago Tribune, "Not really. I'm just going to go out there,
get my check and call it a day.

"I'm just into the free money. That's it. I'll just do
whatever when I get out there."

Third- and fourth-place finishers in the Slam Dunk Contest
receive $16,125 apiece. Second place is worth $22,500 and the
winner gets $35,000. But wherever Thomas finishes, a portion of
his proceeds will go toward paying the fine levied by Paxson.

"The league office has chosen Tyrus to participate in one of its
premier All-Star events and that is an honor that should be
accepted with humility," Paxson said. "I spoke to Tyrus this
morning and am confident he understands that he made a mistake
with his words and that he also understands the importance of
representing the Bulls and the NBA in a positive way."

Thomas is averaging 3.5 points and 2.7 rebounds in 41 games this
season. Despite being the fourth overall pick in the draft, he
was not selected to participate in the Rookie Challenge,
another All-Star Weekend event.


----------



## BeZerker2008 (Jun 29, 2006)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*

Tyrus you doofus, That comment will more than likely make you more on the block for being traded. I'm pretty positive that if pax didn't want to include him in any discussions that he'd be more than happy now to include TT along with his buddy PJ in any negotiations.


----------



## Bulls rock your socks (Jun 29, 2006)

*Re: Bulls fine F Thomas $10,000 for "free money" remark*

wat an idiot


----------



## JeremyB0001 (Nov 17, 2003)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*



BeZerker2008 said:


> Tyrus you doofus, That comment will more than likely make you more on the block for being traded. I'm pretty positive that if pax didn't want to include him in any discussions that he'd be more than happy now to include TT along with his buddy PJ in any negotiations.


C'mon. You don't really think this shook Pax to the core. Tyrus being less than saavy with the media has no bearing on his performance on the court. Pax had disgruntled fans and league officials to worry about.


----------



## L.O.B (Jun 13, 2002)

*Re: Bulls fine F Thomas $10,000 for "free money" remark*



> "The league office has chosen Tyrus to participate in one of its
> premier All-Star events and that is an honor that should be
> accepted with humility,"


Sadly, I no longer think of slam dunk contest as a premier event. It has lost alot of it's luster when the NBA's best can opt out. The fact that Nate the Irate won it lost year speaks volumes. 

That being said, I guess Thomas has gain ed 10,000 reasons to try to win the premier event.


----------



## Husstla (Nov 5, 2006)

*Re: Bulls fine F Thomas $10,000 for "free money" remark*



Bulls rock your socks said:


> wat an idiot


I agree


----------



## such sweet thunder (May 30, 2002)

*Re: Bulls fine F Thomas $10,000 for "free money" remark*


----------



## bullybullz (Jan 28, 2007)

*Re: Bulls fine F Thomas $10,000 for "free money" remark*



L.O.B said:


> Sadly, I no longer think of slam dunk contest as a premier event. It has lost alot of it's luster when the NBA's best can opt out. The fact that Nate the Irate won it lost year speaks volumes.
> 
> That being said, I guess Thomas has gain ed 10,000 reasons to try to win the premier event.


Actually, he get's $16,125 just for participating/ being 3rd or 4th place so he still will have cash at the end of the day.


----------



## ScottMay (Jun 15, 2002)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*



JeremyB0001 said:


> C'mon. You don't really think this shook Pax to the core. Tyrus being less than saavy with the media has no bearing on his performance on the court. Pax had disgruntled fans and league officials to worry about.


Jeremy, are the skies ever cloudy in Paxsonville?

I think you're a great poster with tons of excellent insights, but come on. I'm not saying InsolentCommentsOnTheDunkContestGate rocked Paxson to the core, but given the swift reponse and K.C.'s teaser for tomorrow's papers, I don't know that this can be so blithely written off.

I think the fine is ridiculous, but TT was ridiculously out of line.


----------



## eymang (Dec 15, 2006)

*Re: Bulls fine F Thomas $10,000 for "free money" remark*

Being talked about in the dunk contest thread, but yeah, I didn't want Tyrus Thomas drafted here, but man, how can you (maybe the NBA, but the Bulls?) fine him for that? The kid needs a personality and is probably sour about playing time or sucking it up, but he is just showing the MO of about, what, at least 90% of athletes. Or maybe we can throw all people into that. Would you take a paycut for your company? Are you that loyal or do you just do your work so you can be compensated (ding ding ding)


----------



## garnett (May 13, 2003)

*Re: Bulls fine F Thomas $10,000 for "free money" remark*

Meh. Everybody was thinking it, he just said it. I don't think anybody gets excited about the dunk contest anymore, but I do see why he was fined.


----------



## JeremyB0001 (Nov 17, 2003)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*



ScottMay said:


> Jeremy, are the skies ever cloudy in Paxsonville?
> 
> I think you're a great poster with tons of excellent insights, but come on. I'm not saying InsolentCommentsOnTheDunkContestGate rocked Paxson to the core, but given the swift reponse and K.C.'s teaser for tomorrow's papers, I don't know that this can be so blithely written off.
> 
> I think the fine is ridiculous, but TT was ridiculously out of line.


Thanks for the kind words.

I'm not really sure whether Paxson did the right thing or not. I guess it strikes me as a bit harsh and spineless. My intention though was more to provide insight into his motives. I don't think Tyrus meant any harm but it's hard to feel sorry for him after he said something so stupid and I say that as one of the biggest TT backers on the board. If Pax can appease any upset fans and league officials without most taking Tyrus' side, it's a good P.R. move even if it borders on slimy.


----------



## johnston797 (May 29, 2002)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*



mizenkay said:


> work ethic, IMHO, has nothing to do with it. a person can be a hard worker and still be a boob.


OK...let's connect the dots.

Tyrus says again and again he has a great work ethic. Tyrus can say things that are very stupid. 

Any clearer?


----------



## thebizkit69u (Feb 12, 2003)

*Re: Bulls fine F Thomas $10,000 for "free money" remark*

Tyrus is just stupid. 

I would not be surprised if Tyrus Thomas feels the same way when showing up to games.


----------



## eymang (Dec 15, 2006)

*Re: Bulls fine F Thomas $10,000 for "free money" remark*



thebizkit69u said:


> Tyrus is just stupid.
> 
> I would not be surprised if Tyrus Thomas feels the same way when showing up to games.


So does Ben Wallace. And probably the rest of the team...


----------



## thebizkit69u (Feb 12, 2003)

*Re: Bulls fine F Thomas $10,000 for "free money" remark*



eymang said:


> So does Ben Wallace. And probably the rest of the team...


Ben Wallace and PJ Brown are "ME" first players and not surprisingly guess which 2 guys Tyrus Thomas spends most of his time with?


----------



## step (Sep 19, 2005)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*

I'm a nobody.

Nobody is perfect.

Therefore I am perfect.


----------



## johnston797 (May 29, 2002)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*

TT is not Chander and Curry.

Chander and Curry have a poor work ethic.

Therefore TT must not have a poor work ethic

_or so this summer's logic went_


----------



## thebizkit69u (Feb 12, 2003)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*

Has anyone actually seen the great Tyrus Thomas work ethic that everybody on here talks about?


----------



## randyripoff (Nov 9, 2004)

*Re: Bulls fine F Thomas $10,000 for "free money" remark*



thebizkit69u said:


> Tyrus is just stupid.


I would amend that statement to "Tyrus is just young and stupid. He'll figure it out later" 

Leastways, that's what I'm hoping for.


----------



## Da Grinch (Aug 17, 2002)

*Re: Bulls fine F Thomas $10,000 for "free money" remark*

any1 ever thought the kid just likes to dunk the basketball and doing a dunking exhibition is the kind of thing he would do for free ...thus getting paid for it is "free money"

i dont have a problem with him saying what he thinks ...however egotistical it may be,

whats next fining players for saying they plan to have good games ...the Paxskiles regime strikes again.


----------



## Da Grinch (Aug 17, 2002)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*

i like the fact that there are different types of dunkers in the game (midgets , giants , wingmen) but there is no excuse for not inviting james white outside of the defending champ he is the 1st guy that should have been invited.


----------



## JeremyB0001 (Nov 17, 2003)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*



johnston797 said:


> OK...let's connect the dots.
> 
> Tyrus says again and again he has a great work ethic. Tyrus can say things that are very stupid.
> 
> Any clearer?


You seem to be equating common sense/intelligence with truthfulness for no apparent reason so no, I don't find it particularly clear.



johnston797 said:


> TT is not Chander and Curry.
> 
> Chander and Curry have a poor work ethic.
> 
> ...


Actually, I think the logic was that Tyrus had a reputation for a strong work ethic coming out of LSU. You can critisize the ease with which people swallow the endless glowing information about players that surfaces during draft time but there was more reason than simply the presumption that most players work hard that led to the claim that Tyrus was a hard worker.


----------



## RSP83 (Nov 24, 2002)

*Re: Bulls fine F Thomas $10,000 for "free money" remark*

I think he's just being honest. More like naive than stupid.

But I'm cool with his comments tho'. The NBA have been boring with all the politically correct statements by the players.


----------



## FrankTheTank (Jun 25, 2004)

*Re: Bulls fine F Thomas $10,000 for "free money" remark*

"I'm just into the free money," he said. "That's it. I'll just do whatever when I get out there."

later...

"I didn't want by any means to make it seem that I'm going out there for the money,"

or even better...

"I truly feel honored to be invited to participate in this year's slam dunk contest during next week's NBA All-Star Weekend in Las Vegas," Thomas said. "The opportunity to represent the Bulls and the city of Chicago on a global stage is a privilege that I do not take lightly. I regret the extent to which my comments indicate otherwise."


I figured he was just frustrated about not playing but he's really said some stupid things...


----------



## DaBullz (Jul 15, 2002)

*Re: Bulls fine F Thomas $10,000 for "free money" remark*

Basketball IQ.


----------



## narek (Jul 29, 2005)

*Re: Bulls fine F Thomas $10,000 for "free money" remark*

From KC this mornning:



> Paxson disclosing the amount of the fine is a radical departure from organizational policy. And it speaks to his level of disappointment.
> 
> An appeal is expected. Repeated calls to Thomas' agent to determine if an appeal would be made through the players association weren't returned.
> 
> ...


----------



## Headfake98 (Dec 10, 2006)

As if they will change it back now.


----------



## Pain5155 (May 28, 2006)

the kid doesnt want to be in the contest if he said that, i wonder who will replace him...


----------



## MikeDC (Jul 16, 2002)

> Paxson disclosing the amount of the fine is a radical departure from organizational policy. And it speaks to his level of disappointment.


You know what Pax... from everything I can see, you overreacted (again), and acted like a complete boob (again). From now on, when we read team policy, we'll correctly interpret it as "whatever Pax feels like at the moment".


----------



## johnston797 (May 29, 2002)

MikeDC said:


> You know what Pax... from everything I can see, you overreacted (again), and acted like a complete boob (again). From now on, when we read team policy, we'll correctly interpret it as "whatever Pax feels like at the moment".


Nice work. You nailed this one from the start.


----------



## johnston797 (May 29, 2002)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*



JeremyB0001 said:


> You seem to be equating common sense/intelligence with truthfulness for no apparent reason so no, I don't find it particularly clear.
> 
> Actually, I think the logic was that Tyrus had a reputation for a strong work ethic coming out of LSU. You can critisize the ease with which people swallow the endless glowing information about players that surfaces during draft time but there was more reason than simply the presumption that most players work hard that led to the claim that Tyrus was a hard worker.


OK, let's clear this up - The endless glowing information about Tyrus' work ethic was primarily Tyrus himself. Many people on this board did swallow and regurgitate it with ease. I am not questioning TT's truthfulness, just his judgment. And whomever swallowed his words. If his judgement is so poor about what to say to reporters, whom is to say his judgement is any better about his own work ethic.


----------



## rwj333 (Aug 10, 2002)

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune...,6169790.column?page=1&coll=cs-home-headlines

Sam Smith's article that I haven't seen posted yet. Incredible.


----------



## johnston797 (May 29, 2002)

*Sam Smith: Rookie Thomas is spoiled, rotten*



> [Thomas] has been one of the most difficult rookies to come along in the NBA in years—angry, defiant, condescending, arrogant and having little time or interest for anyone below his self-perceived stately place in life.


http://chicagosports.chicagotribune...6169790.column?page=1&coll=cs-bulls-headlines

But Sam basically says it is ok if he uses his edge and talent on the floor to great effect. That's the million dollar question.

Not sure I want my struggling rookie to have a "bizarre sense of entitlement"

I wish Sam had even touched upon TT's relationship with the coaching staff.


----------



## narek (Jul 29, 2005)

MikeDC said:


> You know what Pax... from everything I can see, you overreacted (again), and acted like a complete boob (again). From now on, when we read team policy, we'll correctly interpret it as "whatever Pax feels like at the moment".


There's an implication in KC's article that the league isn't happy about this. Steve Nash had to back off from his comments about not participating in the Skills contest that weekend, and all he said was he'd rather spend time with his wife and kids. Stern's big on this stuff instead of things like more consistent officiating.


----------



## MikeDC (Jul 16, 2002)

So at the same time KC is going on the radio to say that he feels bad for Thomas, Smith is smearing him? 

Hey Sammy, if you want to be such a big ****ing tough guy, how come you don't openly apply the "coward" label you recently applied to a couple of NBA stars who wanted trades from bad teams to Pau Gasol. Or would that make life a little bit difficult for you since the Bulls are looking at him?

Of course it would. So instead pile on a rookie the GM just broke team policy to make an example of. Because he doesn't sit around endlessly sucking your dick as a reporter? Yes, that's more your speed you spineless coward.


----------



## MikeDC (Jul 16, 2002)

narek said:


> There's an implication in KC's article that the league isn't happy about this. Steve Nash had to back off from his comments about not participating in the Skills contest that weekend, and all he said was he'd rather spend time with his wife and kids. Stern's big on this stuff instead of things like more consistent officiating.


Then let the league fine him. A team should go to bat for its players, or at least keep the flayings private.

If any good came of this, it's that, when pushed to actually speak in detail, Thomas comes off sounding pretty authentic and sincere. His statements sound exactly like what I would expect from a generally good but quiet, private, focused, and sometimes distrustful 20 year old kid who was pretty much shocked that what he said caused any uproar. 

Further the statements by Brown (and the somewhat odd non-statement from Skiles - when does he not talk about anything?) lend creadence to me that TT is a good kid who made a foolish statement without really thinking about how it would sound. Give the freaking kid a break already.


----------



## JeremyB0001 (Nov 17, 2003)

MikeDC said:


> Then let the league fine him. A team should go to bat for its players, or at least keep the flayings private.
> 
> If any good came of this, it's that, when pushed to actually speak in detail, Thomas comes off sounding pretty authentic and sincere. His statements sound exactly like what I would expect from a generally good but quiet, private, focused, and sometimes distrustful 20 year old kid who was pretty much shocked that what he said caused any uproar.
> 
> Further the statements by Brown (and the somewhat odd non-statement from Skiles - when does he not talk about anything?) lend creadence to me that TT is a good kid who made a foolish statement without really thinking about how it would sound. Give the freaking kid a break already.


It sounds as though the league might not have been content to merely fine Tyrus. Pax very well may have saved Tyrus' spot on the competition with the fine.

I otherwise agree with everything you said. Good post.


----------



## bullybullz (Jan 28, 2007)

*Thomas was going to give money to his former high school*

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune...homas,1,6633340.story?coll=cs-bulls-headlines

_Thomas said he planned to donate any money he won to his high school. He hopes he still gets the opportunity._

_"A lot of people are going to look down on what I said. There's nothing I can do now. It was totally misinterpreted. I'm going to go out and try to win the dunk contest and have fun and represent the Bulls well."_

_"I didn't want by any means to make it seem that I'm going out there for the money," Thomas said. "I'm not keeping the money anyway. I was going to give that to my high school. I'm going to go out and have fun and relax from the season."_

I don't understand why everyone is making a big deal about it. The reason he wanted to go for the money was to give back to his high school. So he had a right to say it was for the cash. After all how many other NBA players give the money they won in the All-Star contest to their former high school???

After all the NBA is a BUSINESS and Tyrus giving back money shows the side of a great character on his part.

I just don't understand why Sam Smith is calling him "spoiled, rotten." Seems the complete opposite.


----------



## JeremyB0001 (Nov 17, 2003)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*



johnston797 said:


> OK, let's clear this up - The endless glowing information about Tyrus' work ethic was primarily Tyrus himself. Many people on this board did swallow and regurgitate it with ease. I am not questioning TT's truthfulness, just his judgment. And whomever swallowed his words. If his judgement is so poor about what to say to reporters, whom is to say his judgement is any better about his own work ethic.


That still doesn't sound right to me. Again, I think analysts, teams, and fans are often naive and unquestioning during draft time but to say that their source for information about a players makeup is the player himself seems like a huge stretch. Have you ever seen a story with a line such as "Thomas claims to have a strong work ethic."? I haven't. GMs may form impressions of a player from exchanges with him but typically a question about work ethic would go to those who observe a team's practices, teammates, and coaches. Do those people often speak highly of someone they know well? Sure.  Should people be more questioning of these types of reports? Sure. But I don't think the source of reports that TT had a good work ethic was a reporter asking "Hey Tyrus are you a hard worker?" and him responding "Oh yeah. I'm in the gym all the time."


----------



## MikeDC (Jul 16, 2002)

*Re: Thomas was going to give money to his former high school*



bullybullz said:


> http://chicagosports.chicagotribune...homas,1,6633340.story?coll=cs-bulls-headlinesI just don't understand why Sam Smith is calling him "spoiled, rotten." Seems the complete opposite.



That's because you just don't understand that being a good person has nothing to do with quiet acts of charity but showing proper "deference" to a reporter. After all, Tyrus' job isn't to play basketball, but to provide good copy for said reporter.


----------



## bullybullz (Jan 28, 2007)

*Re: Thomas was going to give money to his former high school*



MikeDC said:


> That's because you just don't understand that being a good person has nothing to do with quiet acts of charity but showing proper "deference" to a reporter. After all, Tyrus' job isn't to play basketball, but to provide good copy for said reporter.


So you're saying that I don't know what I'm saying?? I'm not sure what you mean by saying Tyrus' job isn't to play basketball (after all he get's paid to play basketball and has an agent).

Can you clarify what you mean??


----------



## ScottMay (Jun 15, 2002)

rwj333 said:


> http://chicagosports.chicagotribune...,6169790.column?page=1&coll=cs-home-headlines
> 
> Sam Smith's article that I haven't seen posted yet. Incredible.


Ah . . . this must've been what KC was alluding to in his radio interview yesterday (summarized by narek).

Whew. That escalated quickly.


----------



## johnston797 (May 29, 2002)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*



JeremyB0001 said:


> That still doesn't sound right to me. Again, I think analysts, teams, and fans are often naive and unquestioning during draft time but to say that their source for information about a players makeup is the player himself seems like a huge stretch. Have you ever seen a story with a line such as "Thomas claims to have a strong work ethic."? I haven't. GMs may form impressions of a player from exchanges with him but typically a question about work ethic would go to those who observe a team's practices, teammates, and coaches. Do those people often speak highly of someone they know well? Sure. Should people be more questioning of these types of reports? Sure. But I don't think the source of reports that TT had a good work ethic was a reporter asking "Hey Tyrus are you a hard worker?" and him responding "Oh yeah. I'm in the gym all the time."


I'm not talking about GMs. I'm talking about reporters and fans. And, yes, the stories and postings were piling up this summer about TT being a hard worker. Agree or disagree? If you agree, what was the source other than some quotes from TT and his loved ones? I'd like to know.


----------



## MikeDC (Jul 16, 2002)

*Re: Thomas was going to give money to his former high school*



bullybullz said:


> So you're saying that I don't know what I'm saying?? I'm not sure what you mean by saying Tyrus' job isn't to play basketball (after all he get's paid to play basketball and has an agent).
> 
> Can you clarify what you mean??


Green = sarcasm! 

Sorry to merge all these threads, it just seemed they were all quoting the same article


----------



## johnston797 (May 29, 2002)

*Re: Thomas was going to give money to his former high school*



bullybullz said:


> The reason he wanted to go for the money was to give back to his high school.


If anyone buys this story as is pre-"Free Money", I have some beach front property to sell them. I'm sure this was dreamed up by Pax and TT was told he needed to do this.


----------



## bullybullz (Jan 28, 2007)

*Re: Thomas was going to give money to his former high school*



MikeDC said:


> Green = sarcasm!
> 
> Sorry to merge all these threads, it just seemed they were all quoting the same article


So, you are saying that you don't believe what Tyrus is saying??


----------



## bullybullz (Jan 28, 2007)

*Re: Thomas was going to give money to his former high school*



johnston797 said:


> If anyone buys this story as is pre-"Free Money", I have some beach front property to sell them. I'm sure this was dreamed up by Pax and TT was told he needed to do this.


Then what about P.J.s comment in this article?? You think this respected veteran would talk a bunch of trash?? I don't think so.


----------



## MikeDC (Jul 16, 2002)

*Re: Thomas was going to give money to his former high school*

No, I'm saying Sam Smith is a turd and he's doing a hatchet job on Tyrus.


----------



## bullybullz (Jan 28, 2007)

*Re: Thomas was going to give money to his former high school*



MikeDC said:


> No, I'm saying Sam Smith is a turd and he's doing a hatchet job on Tyrus.


Oh, Ok. I thought the same thing too. Good, we both agree!! Sorry I misinterpreted what you were saying.


----------



## narek (Jul 29, 2005)

*Re: Thomas was going to give money to his former high school*



MikeDC said:


> No, I'm saying Sam Smith is a turd and he's doing a hatchet job on Tyrus.


I read that article this morning, and the first thought I had was Tyrus must've not talked to Sam when Sam wanted an interview. Definately over the top.


----------



## MikeDC (Jul 16, 2002)

*Re: Thomas was going to give money to his former high school*

Not passing judgement on whether everything said by TT, Brown, Pax or anyone else is the gospel truth. I just think Smith is a big time ***** to call him out that way. Especially while studiously ignoring the implications of his recent past big-talking now that such a situation is staring the team he covers and must closely work with in the face. It exposes him as a coward and generally the petty sort of person he's describing Thomas as. A guy who'll step on anyone he thinks he can get away with stepping on and say or recant anything he's said to cover his own ***.


----------



## MikeDC (Jul 16, 2002)

*Re: Thomas was going to give money to his former high school*



bullybullz said:


> Oh, Ok. I thought the same thing too. Good, we both agree!! Sorry I misinterpreted what you were saying.


Sorry, I have a tendency to be a bit vague sometimes


----------



## rwj333 (Aug 10, 2002)

Positives:
PJ Brown speaks of him positively.
Brigs speaks of him positively. "I get this kid."
Teammates generally appear to like him and talk to him. 
Thomas sounds sincere during interviews. 
Shows intensity and passion during games that no other Bull does. 
Has a strong sense of humor. Laughs quickly and easily when he doesn't have a serious mindset. 

Negatives:
Obviously immature, not savvy, and maybe sheltered.
Not humble at all. 
Skiles says he "doesn't know how to work it yet."
Doubts about work ethic? Supposedly worked all summer, but still skinny and can't shoot. 
DraftExpress interview. 
Sam Smith's article.

...I don't know what to make of Tyrus yet. Skiles' comments about him not knowing how to work it and Tyrus' general overconfidence in his ability (he can't even beat out PJ Brown) give me pause. And I'm not sure I buy his explanation about donating the money to his high school. If that was true, he would have mentioned it earlier. 

My theory is that success may have come a little too quickly, and Tyrus may be the kind of person that needs to experience a significant setback to become inspired and more humble. 

Charlie Villanueva, for example, was motivated after GMs ridiculed Babcock for picking him. Dwayne Wade played mad after the 2004 rookie game during which he was ignored by reporters and overshadowed by Carmelo and Lebron. MJ was dropped from HS varsity. Arenas and Wallace were 2nd round picks. 

I'm not sure Tyrus has had a similar experience yet. He came out of nowhere and became the 4th pick in the draft after one season of play. He was recruited based on his size and athleticism and instincts, not because of skills that he worked hard to develop. 

Just a theory. Maybe Sam Smith is doing the Bulls organization a favor by taking him down a notch.


----------



## TomBoerwinkle#1 (Jul 31, 2002)

What Tyrus said was big time stupid and a huge black eye to the organization. He said it was "all about the free money" and the cure for that careless comment was to fine the kid for the bulk of the money and an agreement that the rest get donated to a worthy cause.

End of public relations nightmare.

How this got morphed into another "Paxson has to be an incarnation of the antichrist" train of thought or somehow turned into an exercise in media bashing for columnists daring to be critical of an undeniably immature and unprofessional comment makes me shake my head in disbelief.

This board is just too much sometimes.

:whatever:

On the other hand, I do think Tyrus was just being flippant when he said it, and hopefully its a matter of "lesson learned" in terms of being careful about what is said to a reporter.

As far as Smith goes, I'll post on the other thread -- but in short, I support his right to moan about guys who make his job difficult.

On the other hand, it doesn't particularly bother me that TT isn't an easy interview. I don't think his distaste for reporters necessarily qualifies him as a "jerk," any more than I think Kareem was a jerk.

Maybe some others think Kareem was a jerk for being difficult with reporters.

Or VH Singh. There are plenty of guys who are or have been surly with the media.

I don't think they are jerks.

Some sports figures ARE jerks -- like Marge Schotz, for example. Things she said were offensive.

Some are unreasonable in their treatment of reporters -- Coach Ditka comes to mind. Lee Elia. Bill Parcels sometimes crossed the line.

Some just don't like being interviewed. Frankly, I don't think Kirk likes it, though he handles it better than TT apparently does.

Tyrus made his amends, he'll pay his fine, he'll do his best in the competition and maybe we can all move on from this.


----------



## ScottMay (Jun 15, 2002)

*Re: Thomas was going to give money to his former high school*



johnston797 said:


> If anyone buys this story as is pre-"Free Money", I have some beach front property to sell them. I'm sure this was dreamed up by Pax and TT was told he needed to do this.


Yeah, maybe I'm a skeptical son of a *****, but I think the likelihood of the high school story being true is about the same as the likelihood Tyrus wrote a single word of this:



> I truly feel honored to be invited to participate in this year's slam dunk contest during next week's NBA All-Star Weekend in Las Vegas. The opportunity to represent the Bulls and the city of Chicago on a global stage is a privilege that I do not take lightly. I regret the extent to which my comments indicate otherwise.


Mike, I hear what you're saying, but I'm going to wait to hear from some of the other reporters before I agree to the notion that Smith did a hatchet job. If Tyrus has habitually been a sullen, spoiled uncommunicative **** to the media, then a piece like Smith's is completely fair game. Just like lunches with little old ladies and photo ops and getting a physical every year, dealing with the media is part and parcel of being an NBA player. 

Yes, it is Tyrus's God-given and constitutional right not to give Sam Smith an interview and to be a ***** to the media in general. It is also Sam Smith's and the media's God-given and constitutional right to call him out for it. 99.9% of all athletes decide that it's wiser just to play along and not roil the waters.


----------



## johnston797 (May 29, 2002)

*Re: Thomas was going to give money to his former high school*



MikeDC said:


> Not passing judgement on whether everything said by TT, Brown, Pax or anyone else is the gospel truth. I just think Smith is a big time ***** to call him out that way. Especially while studiously ignoring the implications of his recent past big-talking now that such a situation is staring the team he covers and must closely work with in the face. It exposes him as a coward and generally the petty sort of person he's describing Thomas as. A guy who'll step on anyone he thinks he can get away with stepping on and say or recant anything he's said to cover his own ***.


Smith and the Chicago Bulls relationship is symbiotic. I wonder is he got clearance on this one. Pax indirectly gave him some lattidude with the unprecedented media release of the fine amount.


----------



## bullybullz (Jan 28, 2007)

rwj333 said:


> Positives:
> PJ Brown speaks of him positively.
> Brigs speaks of him positively. "I get this kid."
> Teammates generally appear to like him and talk to him.
> ...


What Wallace are you talking about?? Ben Wallace wasn't even drafted and Rasheed and Gerald are both former 1st round picks.

Also, Michael was cut from the Varsity team as a FRESHMEN. That's understandable IMO.


----------



## mizenkay (Dec 29, 2003)

TomBoerwinkle#1 said:


> What Tyrus said was big time stupid and a huge black eye to the organization. He said it was "all about the free money" and the cure for that careless comment was to fine the kid for the bulk of the money and an agreement that the rest get donated to a worthy cause.
> 
> End of public relations nightmare.
> 
> ...





:worthy: 

you nailed it!





> _The opportunity to represent the Bulls and the city of Chicago on a global stage is a privilege that I do not take lightly._


right, like thomas really speaks like this, cause you know, he's just chill, dude. 

love how pax is the bad guy in all of this for some people. just classic.


----------



## MikeDC (Jul 16, 2002)

*Re: Thomas was going to give money to his former high school*



ScottMay said:


> Mike, I hear what you're saying, but I'm going to wait to hear from some of the other reporters before I agree to the notion that Smith did a hatchet job.


Err... again, didn't KC Johnson go on the radio saying he felt bad about it and the TT was a good kid?

Isn't he another reporter?

More importantly, this is exactly the sort of thing that was brought up regarding TT before/when he was drafted. Pax, I believe, even gave an interview where talked about how they were aware of who and how he was and that he was a kid they were going to have to understand and provide a good environment for.


----------



## JeremyB0001 (Nov 17, 2003)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*



johnston797 said:


> I'm not talking about GMs. I'm talking about reporters and fans. And, yes, the stories and postings were piling up this summer about TT being a hard worker. Agree or disagree? If you agree, what was the source other than some quotes from TT and his loved ones? I'd like to know.


High school coaches, college coaches, high school teammates, college teammates, and anyone else who has observed his former teams (scouts, equipment manager, A.D., etc.).


----------



## ScottMay (Jun 15, 2002)

*Re: Thomas was going to give money to his former high school*



MikeDC said:


> Err... again, didn't KC Johnson go on the radio saying he felt bad about it and the TT was a good kid?
> 
> Isn't he another reporter?
> 
> More importantly, this is exactly the sort of thing that was brought up regarding TT before/when he was drafted. Pax, I believe, even gave an interview where talked about how they were aware of who and how he was and that he was a kid they were going to have to understand and provide a good environment for.


Well, here's the thing. We like to criticize the Sam Smiths and the Jay Mariottis of the world because they "rip" players without being in the locker room every day.

I find the flip side of this alleged phenomenon to be far, far more prevalent -- the Stockholm syndrome that develops between beat writers and the players they cover. 

I don't think TT is a bad person, just a lousy communicator. But there is something worrying in all this as relates to TT's play and coachability, imo. 

And I thought PJ Brown was brought here to prevent this sort of thing from happening, not to do damage control after the fact. Yeash.


----------



## JeremyB0001 (Nov 17, 2003)

rwj333 said:


> And I'm not sure I buy his explanation about donating the money to his high school. If that was true, he would have mentioned it earlier.


If you're going to evaluate his comments using the standard of a rational person, you could just as easily say he wouldn't have made the "free money" comment in the first place if he intended it to keep it for himself since it is 1/100th of the money he will earn this season.


----------



## ScottMay (Jun 15, 2002)

mizenkay said:


> love how pax is the bad guy in all of this for some people. just classic.


He's not the bad guy in my book, but I really don't like the way he's handled it. More to the point, it shows me that even if the Bulls were aware that managing Tyrus was going to be a handful, they haven't done a good job of following through.


----------



## Rhyder (Jul 15, 2002)

TomBoerwinkle#1 said:


> What Tyrus said was big time stupid and a huge black eye to the organization. He said it was "all about the free money" and the cure for that careless comment was to fine the kid for the bulk of the money and an agreement that the rest get donated to a worthy cause.
> 
> End of public relations nightmare.
> 
> ...


Fabulous post. It pretty much summarizes my take on the whole situation.

I don't often say this, but I actually thought most of Sam's article was pretty good. The title was extremely misleading as to what the rest of the content described, however. On the other hand, reporters are paid to stir the pot.


----------



## TomBoerwinkle#1 (Jul 31, 2002)

ScottMay said:


> He's not the bad guy in my book, but I really don't like the way he's handled it. More to the point, it shows me that even if the Bulls were aware that managing Tyrus was going to be a handful, they haven't done a good job of following through.


Sam seems to indicate that the Tyrus Foot in Mouth disease has been an ongoing issue. Management has managed to keep Mr. Surly's escapades out of the press until this one, and then they put out the fire quickly, but firmly.

As I've said, hopefully this is "lesson learned" with Thomas and everyone will move right along. Nothing to see here.


----------



## narek (Jul 29, 2005)

TomBoerwinkle#1 said:


> As far as Smith goes, I'll post on the other thread -- but in short, I support his right to moan about guys who make his job difficult.
> 
> On the other hand, it doesn't particularly bother me that TT isn't an easy interview. I don't think his distaste for reporters necessarily qualifies him as a "jerk," any more than I think Kareem was a jerk.


You know, Kareem was a jerk in his early years in Milwaukee and the city was pretty forgiving. A few years ago, he admitted he misread the fans and the city, and wished he'd been different. It was amazing. But he learned the hard way that beeng short and surly with people cost. He lost out on a lot of opportunities he could have had from his surliness with a variety of outsiders.

It's something a lot of young players could learn from.


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## ScottMay (Jun 15, 2002)

narek said:


> You know, Kareem was a jerk in his early years in Milwaukee and the city was pretty forgiving. A few years ago, he admitted he misread the fans and the city, and wished he'd been different. It was amazing. But he learned the hard way that beeng short and surly with people cost. He lost out on a lot of opportunities he could have had from his surliness with a variety of outsiders.
> 
> It's something a lot of young players could learn from.


If Tyrus was putting up 35 a night on 60% shooting, 15 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 blocks, he could pee on Sam Smith's head after every game and I wouldn't care.


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## TomBoerwinkle#1 (Jul 31, 2002)

narek said:


> You know, Kareem was a jerk in his early years in Milwaukee and the city was pretty forgiving. A few years ago, he admitted he misread the fans and the city, and wished he'd been different. It was amazing. But he learned the hard way that beeng short and surly with people cost. He lost out on a lot of opportunities he could have had from his surliness with a variety of outsiders.
> 
> It's something a lot of young players could learn from.


I recall hearing Kareem say that as well.

And while I have been defending somewhat TT's right to be distant with the media, I agree that the league, the team and Thomas himself would be better served if he did indeed learn the lesson you preach.


----------



## Ron Cey (Dec 27, 2004)

MikeDC said:


> Then let the league fine him. A team should go to bat for its players, or at least keep the flayings private.
> 
> *If any good came of this, it's that, when pushed to actually speak in detail, Thomas comes off sounding pretty authentic and sincere.* His statements sound exactly like what I would expect from *a generally good but quiet, private, focused, and sometimes distrustful 20 year old kid who was pretty much shocked that what he said caused any uproar.*
> 
> Further the statements by Brown (and the somewhat odd non-statement from Skiles - when does he not talk about anything?) lend creadence to me that TT is a good kid who made a foolish statement without really thinking about how it would sound. Give the freaking kid a break already.


Come on, Mike. You are smarter than that. Its damage control plain and simple. What is "sincere" is what he said before it became a national story, before he got fined, before his boss ripped him a new one, before the NBA considered publicly shaming him by booting him from the competition, and before (most likely) PJ and several other vets gave him a lesson in how to fake contrition after the fact. 

If this were anyone in management changing their tune after saying something stupid, you'd be all over the insencerity and you'd be right. Drop the double standard.

Moreover, we know from the draftexpress.com interview that Tyrus is a lot more like the description Sam Smith offers than your depiction of some shy, honest kid, innocently swept up in the PR politics of the NBA and Paxson's "boobish" iron-fisted ways.

Was it an innocent mistake and youthfully stupid? Most likely yes. Should a huge deal be made of it? No. Should he have been fined and forced to clarify? Yes. Should the amount of the fine been published contrary to team policy and inconsistent with the response to Ben Wallace's far more egregious conduct? No (a resounding "no").

But Sam Smith's article makes me wonder if the Bulls have been dealing with a lot more of this type of attitude than we've heard about, tried to get him to shape up, failed, and felt they needed to go public this time to make a point in the hope it would finally sink in. I don't know that this is what happened. But its possible, and he has a history with this now so there is at least some evidence to support that speculation.

Tyrus Thomas has made himself look like an arrogant, self-entitled, *** twice in the last 8 months. Publicly. And who knows what else he's said? 

There are many possible sides to this. Lets not go overboard in any direction.


----------



## MikeDC (Jul 16, 2002)

*Re: Thomas was going to give money to his former high school*



ScottMay said:


> Well, here's the thing. We like to criticize the Sam Smiths and the Jay Mariottis of the world because they "rip" players without being in the locker room every day.
> 
> I find the flip side of this alleged phenomenon to be far, far more prevalent -- the Stockholm syndrome that develops between beat writers and the players they cover.


So you think KC has Stockholm syndrome? 

I don't disgree with what you're saying in general, but Smith seems to me to have gone well beyond saying ...



> I don't think TT is a bad person, just a lousy communicator.


... which would be a completely reasonable take on the situation. Instead, he took the opportunity to take a public **** on a guy just because he could.



> But there is something worrying in all this as relates to TT's play and coachability, imo.
> 
> And I thought PJ Brown was brought here to prevent this sort of thing from happening, not to do damage control after the fact. Yeash.


Again, all of which might be a perfectly fair grounds for criticism. If Smith came up with something hard to this effect, I wouldn't have much of a problem. Instead, he dished up such a petty and obvious tantrum of complaints (mumbling... a vignette about Thabo helping the sweaty body tape guy!) that it was obvious he's just mad about having a boo-boo on his OWG sense of entitlement. 

LOL, the article itself does more to suggest to me that he's no problem at all as far as coachability goes than anything else. Smith set out to do write this and the best he could come up with was how Thabo helped the sweaty body tape guy and Tyrus didn't? Gimme a break! If that's the best he can do, there's nothing to it except Smith trying to be a dildo.


----------



## lgtwins (May 18, 2004)

*Re: Thomas was going to give money to his former high school*



ScottMay said:


> Yeah, maybe I'm a skeptical son of a *****, but I think the likelihood of the high school story being true is about the same as the likelihood Tyrus wrote a single word of this:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


For once, I agree with everything what Scott said.


----------



## TomBoerwinkle#1 (Jul 31, 2002)

Ron Cey said:


> Was it an innocent mistake and youthfully stupid? Most likely yes. Should a huge deal be made of it? No. Should he have been fined and forced to clarify? Yes. Should the amount of the fine been published contrary to team policy and inconsistent with the response to Ben Wallace's far more egregious conduct? No (a resounding "no").


I think the publication of the amount in this instance was appropriate, simply given the nature of the comment and the reason for the damage control.


----------



## ScottMay (Jun 15, 2002)

*Re: Thomas was going to give money to his former high school*



MikeDC said:


> So you think KC has Stockholm syndrome?


If we can safely conclude, through the Smith piece and lead-up to the draft and so on, that Tyrus is a dick to the press, then where would KC get the impression that he's a good guy? A hunch? Are they hanging around outside of the job? Did P.J. Brown tell him that was the case? 

If it's a judgment call on KC's part, I reserve the right to be skeptical. A lot of the time the beat guys are too close to the team and to the players to give the unvarnished truth on something like this. 



> LOL, the article itself does more to suggest to me that he's no problem at all as far as coachability goes than anything else.


It's worrying insofar as Tyrus's media skills were something the Bulls set out to fix as soon as they drafted him, and they've had absolutely no luck, for no better reason, apparently, than that Tyrus feels it's beneath him. 

Tyrus's playing time is going backward, and he doesn't seem to be making a hell of a lot of tangible progress when he does get run. What if Tyrus feels that working on the holes in his game is beneath him, too, and he's made no progress in those areas, either?

I am leaping to conclusions, yes, and to some degree one thing has nothing to do with the other. However, I wildly disagree with the assumption (not saying it's yours) that Tyrus is so talented, all he needs to do is get a little older and get more PT. I think he has an enormous amount of work to do, and when I see him so unwilling to put in hard work in one area, it concerns me.

I agree that Sefolosha's tidiness makes for an awful counterexample. But good for Thabo.


----------



## Ron Cey (Dec 27, 2004)

TomBoerwinkle#1 said:


> What Tyrus said was big time stupid and a huge black eye to the organization. He said it was "all about the free money" and the cure for that careless comment was to fine the kid for the bulk of the money and an agreement that the rest get donated to a worthy cause.
> 
> End of public relations nightmare.
> 
> ...


Well said.


----------



## rwj333 (Aug 10, 2002)

> But Sam Smith's article makes me wonder if the Bulls have been dealing with a lot more of this type of attitude than we've heard about, tried to get him to shape up, failed, and felt they needed to go public this time to make a point in the hope it would finally sink in. I don't know that this is what happened. But its possible, and he has a history with this now so there is at least some evidence to support that speculation.


I think this speculation makes a lot of sense.


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## Ron Cey (Dec 27, 2004)

TomBoerwinkle#1 said:


> I think the publication of the amount in this instance was appropriate, simply given the nature of the comment and the reason for the damage control.


I think that is a fair assessment. 

But I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I find it more than a little bit inconsistent to publicize *the amount *of the fine this time, but not when Ben Wallace did something far more severe. (Though I realize there are numerous logical reasons for disparate treatment including the nature of the statement and "prize free agent veteran allstar NBA champ" vs. dumb rookie.)

But they could have just said Tyrus has been fined, and that he's donating his winnings to his high school. The mention of the amount was unnecessary in light of a team policy and past discretion.


----------



## TomBoerwinkle#1 (Jul 31, 2002)

*Re: Thomas was going to give money to his former high school*



ScottMay said:


> If it's a judgment call on KC's part, I reserve the right to be skeptical. A lot of the time the beat guys are too close to the team and to the players to give the unvarnished truth on something like this.


Well, its a good thing that we have the Woodward/Bernstein of the NBA press core, the last bastion of all things Good and Noble about the Fourth Estate, Mr. Sam Smith, to give us the unvarnished truth, eh? 





> It's worrying insofar as Tyrus's media skills were something the Bulls set out to fix as soon as they drafted him, and they've had absolutely no luck, for no better reason, apparently, than that Tyrus feels it's beneath him.


From what I had heard over the summer, I was expecting a daily nightmare from TT, from a public relations standpoint. It appears that but for some sort of fixin' that would have been the case, according to Sam "Perpetual Pulitzer" Smith. It only takes one slip up for all that to come to nought, apparently. There is the scent of blood in the air. **awaits sanctimonious tirade from Jay Mariotti**



> Tyrus's playing time is going backward, and he doesn't seem to be making a hell of a lot of tangible progress when he does get run. What if Tyrus feels that working on the holes in his game is beneath him, too, and he's made no progress in those areas, either?
> 
> I am leaping to conclusions, yes, and to some degree one thing has nothing to do with the other.


I agree that you are leaping to conclusions -- and certainly hope you are wrong. From everything I've heard and read, though, Tyrus is a good listener and a willing learner. Of course, with all of us questioning everything that is said and everything that's reported, who knows? I guess it could be just spin. 

On the other hand:



> However, I wildly disagree with the assumption (not saying it's yours) that Tyrus is so talented, all he needs to do is get a little older and get more PT. I think he has an enormous amount of work to do...


I wholeheartedly agree with the above. Freakishness got him in the league. Its gonna take a lotta learnin' to make him successful there. Here's hoping. He could be special. But if he doesn't learn...a lot, he won't be.




> , and when I see him so unwilling to put in hard work in one area, it concerns me.


And hope that your concerns are much ado about nothing. For now, I'll reserve judgment.



> I agree that Sefolosha's tidiness makes for an awful counterexample. But good for Thabo.


Thabo's Mom, were she still posting here, would Very Proud Thabo Of Be. Yes. Neat boy. Room Tidy. Always.


----------



## JeremyB0001 (Nov 17, 2003)

*Re: Thomas was going to give money to his former high school*



johnston797 said:


> Smith and the Chicago Bulls relationship is symbiotic. I wonder is he got clearance on this one. Pax indirectly gave him some lattidude with the unprecedented media release of the fine amount.


I assume the amount of the fine was contained in the press release and not leaked to Smith.

Many have suggested that the amount of the fine was divulged because Paxson is particularly upset with Tyrus. I should first say that if there is established team policy not to release the amount of a fine, that policy should not be violated under any circumstances. That said, releasing the amount of the fine may have had less to due with the front offices' anger and more to do with the fact that the entire controversy (if it even deserves that label) revolved around money. The fine was a statement that Tyrus would be forced to compete for "the right reasons" and would not receive a financial windfall from his participation (not that he ever would have in the first place). The view may have been that releasing the amount of the money would drive home this idea.


----------



## johnston797 (May 29, 2002)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*



JeremyB0001 said:


> High school coaches, college coaches, high school teammates, college teammates, and anyone else who has observed his former teams (scouts, equipment manager, A.D., etc.).


Sorry to continue to take this OT, but this I don't recall such overwhelming praise. And I'm even more dubious of it now than at draft time.



ScottMay said:


> I think [TT] has an enormous amount of work to do, and when I see him so unwilling to put in hard work in one area, it concerns me.


Agreed.


----------



## JeremyB0001 (Nov 17, 2003)

*Re: Thomas was going to give money to his former high school*



ScottMay said:


> It's worrying insofar as Tyrus's media skills were something the Bulls set out to fix as soon as they drafted him, and they've had absolutely no luck, for no better reason, apparently, than that Tyrus feels it's beneath him.


I feel that conclusions such as this one are marred by the assumption that Tyrus is operating on the same plane of existance as the rest of us when some of his comments provide strong evidence to the contrary. I'm not sure he feels it's beneath him as much as he just doesn't get it and is not very perceptive.


----------



## transplant (Jul 31, 2002)

My take FWIW.

I wasn't bothered by what Thomas originally said, but I can certainly understand why the NBA and Bulls management didn't like it. Tyrus kind of let go a floater in the NBA's All Star Weekend swimming pool.

I think the proper sanction should have been to take back the invite to participate. That way the story ends.

I WAS offended by the stuff about how he was going to donate all his winnings to his high school...I mean, we're not THAT stupid. He should have just apologized and left it at that.


----------



## such sweet thunder (May 30, 2002)

*Re: Thomas was going to give money to his former high school*



ScottMay said:


> Yeah, maybe I'm a skeptical son of a *****, but I think the likelihood of the high school story being true is about the same as the likelihood Tyrus wrote a single word of this:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


roil is a good word.


----------



## TomBoerwinkle#1 (Jul 31, 2002)

Ron Cey said:


> (Though I realize there are numerous logical reasons for disparate treatment including the nature of the statement and "prize free agent veteran allstar NBA champ" vs. dumb rookie.)


I honestly think it has to do with the former, more so than the latter.



> But they could have just said Tyrus has been fined, and that he's donating his winnings to his high school. The mention of the amount was unnecessary in light of a team policy and past discretion.


They could have, but I don't find the fact that they did it the way they did to be an aggreggious offense, in the totality of THIS PARTICULAR circumstance.

On the other hand, I think it would have been an even better from a public relations standpoint (not to mention from a benefit to society standpoint) if they hadn't fined him AT ALL, and instead announced that they met with TT, advised him that they were not pleased with his comments and that Thomas had agreed to donate ALL of his winnings to his high school.


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## MikeDC (Jul 16, 2002)

****... I spent a fair amount of time responding to your post and it somehow disappeared. I could have sworn I posted it and saw it on the board;

I'm going to rearrange things a little bit, because I think it will show that we really aren't disagreeing much at all.



Ron Cey said:


> Was it an innocent mistake and youthfully stupid? Most likely yes. Should a huge deal be made of it? No. Should he have been fined and forced to clarify? Yes. Should the amount of the fine been published contrary to team policy and inconsistent with the response to Ben Wallace's far more egregious conduct? No (a resounding "no").


This is exactly my view as well.



Ron Cey said:


> Come on, Mike. You are smarter than that. Its damage control plain and simple. What is "sincere" is what he said before it became a national story, before he got fined, before his boss ripped him a new one, before the NBA considered publicly shaming him by booting him from the competition, and before (most likely) PJ and several other vets gave him a lesson in how to fake contrition after the fact.
> 
> If this were anyone in management changing their tune after saying something stupid, you'd be all over the insencerity and you'd be right. Drop the double standard.


I have a post above where I specifically point out I said "Not passing judgement on whether everything said by TT, Brown, Pax or anyone else is the gospel truth."

I think everyone is laying it on pretty thick. It's to be expected.



> Moreover, we know from the draftexpress.com interview that Tyrus is a lot more like the description Sam Smith offers than your depiction of some shy, honest kid, innocently swept up in the PR politics of the NBA and Paxson's "boobish" iron-fisted ways.


The boob comment was directed at the fact that, at least partly due to breaking team policy, this is now front page news on every basketball site in the land. 

Instead of damage control, the flames got fanned and this seems, again, to have been made into a big deal instead of a stupid comment made by a clueless kid.

Similarly, it's certainly not in the Bulls' interest or anyone else to let the most influential hoops writer in the city smear him. And Smith is who really has me pissed...



> But Sam Smith's article makes me wonder if the Bulls have been dealing with a lot more of this type of attitude than we've heard about, tried to get him to shape up, failed, and felt they needed to go public this time to make a point in the hope it would finally sink in. I don't know that this is what happened. But its possible, and he has a history with this now so there is at least some evidence to support that speculation.


... *because without any substantiation, he has you and others assuming this to be the case. Show me one sentence in that article where cite any sort of evidence that says he's not coachable, that he's a jerk to his teammates, that he doesn't get along with coaches, or staff? That he kicks puppies in front of their owners, who are orphans? Is there one sentence in that story that says anything about that? 

You know, things that would actually be factually relevant and insiteful information about his role and relationship on the team or even as a "real life" person?

No, there's not.* 

It says he doesn't deal well with the press, is abrupt, short, gives bad copy, and has been from the start. 

Well boo-****ing hoo. That's the best the best reporter covering the Bulls can come up with? He didn't fling a basketball at Martin Andrews and knock him out. He didn't tell Skiles to go F himself. He didn't ***** about being on the bench. He didn't get caught tooling down the Dan Ryan at 135 with a glock in the glovebox. Nothing.

And yet he's a spoiled rotten jerk.



> Tyrus Thomas has made himself look like an arrogant, self-entitled, *** twice in the last 8 months. Publicly. And who knows what else he's said?
> 
> There are many possible sides to this.* Lets not go overboard in any direction*.


See, I completely agree with this, and that's actually why I'm pretty ticked about it. A big deal has been made out of a situation that you agree is not that big of a deal. And a kid who, I think we agree, is basically guilty of youthful stupidity, is being smeared for it.

I'm no fan of youthful stupidity, but the generic, unsubstantiated smears, name-calling and aspersions are way overboard and serve to make Smith look like an arrogant and self-entitled *** of a reporter. One of them is a kid who made a mistake and doesn't like talking to the press. The other knew exactly what he was doing.


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## TomBoerwinkle#1 (Jul 31, 2002)

transplant said:


> Tyrus kind of let go a floater in the NBA's All Star Weekend swimming pool.


Reminds me of:

<object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/bWyd7PzXBYs"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/bWyd7PzXBYs" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>

I was also looking for the Baby Ruth scene from Caddyshack, but couldn't find the clip...



> I think the proper sanction should have been to take back the invite to participate. That way the story ends.


That would have been an acceptable way of handling the situation.



> I WAS offended by the stuff about how he was going to donate all his winnings to his high school...I mean, we're not THAT stupid. He should have just apologized and left it at that.


Eh, those half hearted after the fact "do the right things" are part of the PR game. Like every celebrity who has entered rehab after a DUI or "reached out" to a community he/she has offended with an ignorant comment.

At least this mulligan will end up helping some kids.


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## MikeDC (Jul 16, 2002)

On more point. Earilier in the year Smith was throwing out there earlier in the season what appeared to be an annecdote about players were griping about Skiles' hypocrisy in dealing with Chandler vs. Wallace. He gave all sorts of little annecdotes that cast Wallace, and sometimes others (Skiles is one I can obviously think of) in a negative light. Strong stuff. 

And yet he can't even get an oblique, minor, or trivial negative about Thomas' behavior towards his coaches and teammates? The best he can come up with is his tear-jerker about Thabo and the tape guy and the fact that "league sources" said he was abrupt with the media back at draft time?

Give me a break. He's got nothing. Zero, zippo, zilch.

Similarly, the idea that he's simply holding something back makes zero sense. He's holding back some story about how awful Thomas is (for what reason, to help the Bulls trade him and stay in their good graces?) while simultaneously publically proclaiming him a spoiled, rotten jerk? Yeah, I'm sure Jerry West wants all the guys like that he can get. Makes no sense at all, except as Smith having a tantrum.


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## jnrjr79 (Apr 18, 2003)

My take:

What Tyrus said? Stupid, but big whoop. I think he pretty well explained how the entire NBA now feels about the dunk contest. Jordan vs. Nique it is no more. It gets B-level (at best) talent for a reason: nobody wants to do it.

However, only an idiot would say he was showing up just for the check and then would do "whatever," even if it's true. NBA players go through LOTS of training in how to deal with the media. Why do you think you always here the same cliches over and over? These guys know what they're doing. Tyrus should know better. Overlord Stern is of course not pleased when anybody criticizes The Product.

As for Sam Smith, who knows, the article could be off-base, and it might not be. I do agree that he may be reacting to a lack of access more than anything else. The specifics he cites of Tyrus's behavior certainly aren't as bad as many NBA players. I don't have any real insight on how Tyrus conducts himself as a person, so I'll view this as one man's opinion and nothing more. He's got a big microphone and he's wielding it here. He's not a hatchet-job-a-day journalist like Mariotti, so perhaps there's more weight to what he's saying than if it were coming from other sources. The fact that Tyrus might be a 20 year-old multi millionaire jerk does not shock me. What shocks me is more players aren't that way. Nonetheless, I'll hold off final judgment on Tyrus for a while until I feel I have a better idea for what kind of a guy he is.


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## Ron Cey (Dec 27, 2004)

> I have a post above where I specifically point out I said "Not passing judgement on whether everything said by TT, Brown, Pax or anyone else is the gospel truth."
> 
> I think everyone is laying it on pretty thick. It's to be expected.


Well thats fine. But your description of him as this thoughtful and innocent kid based on what was, in my opinion, obviously scripted damage control while contemporaneously calling Paxson a "boob" for fining Thomas seemed a little bit clouded. 



> The boob comment was directed at the fact that, at least partly due to breaking team policy, this is now front page news on every basketball site in the land.
> 
> Instead of damage control, the flames got fanned and this seems, again, to have been made into a big deal instead of a stupid comment made by a clueless kid.


I'm absolutely convinced that it would have been no matter what. The NBA convened a meeting to determine if they were going to revoke his invitation (which still hasn't been decided yet, I don't think). 

Had Paxson not taken some action, the NBA most definitely would have and still may. As a matter of PR, they simply can't have invitees to their premier weekend expressing apathy and greed at the same time. 

There is almost nothing that sports fans (wrongly in my opinion, but lets be realistic about it from the NBA's marketing perspective) hate worse than athletes that are viewed as lazy and greedy. And Thomas basically came out and said "I don't care, I just want some money". Thomas made this a story, not Paxson. 



> Similarly, it's certainly not in the Bulls' interest or anyone else to let the most influential hoops writer in the city smear him. And Smith is who really has me pissed...


I don't think he is "smearing" him. I know of two provable instances in 8 months wherein Thomas acted exactly like Smith is describing him to be. 



> .. *because without any substantiation, he has you and others assuming this to be the case. Show me one sentence in that article where cite any sort of evidence that says he's not coachable, that he's a jerk to his teammates, that he doesn't get along with coaches, or staff? That he kicks puppies in front of their owners, who are orphans? Is there one sentence in that story that says anything about that?
> 
> You know, things that would actually be factually relevant and insiteful information about his role and relationship on the team or even as a "real life" person?
> 
> ...


But there is substantiation. There is this incident and the draftexpress.com interview. Both of which are entirely consistent with Smith's general portrayal. Indeed, I think Smith could have made him look far, far worse had he provided the detail you are asking for. Perhaps this is Smith's way of being critical without completely sabatoging a relationship with Thomas via the release of more particulars that would sour the fan base?

I don't know. But I do know that we know, with certainty, that Thomas has behaved like this publicly twice in a relatively short time period. 



> See, I completely agree with this, and that's actually why I'm pretty ticked about it. A big deal has been made out of a situation that you agree is not that big of a deal. And a kid who, I think we agree, is basically guilty of youthful stupidity, is being smeared for it.
> 
> I'm no fan of youthful stupidity, but the generic, unsubstantiated smears, name-calling and aspersions are way overboard and serve to make Smith look like an arrogant and self-entitled *** of a reporter. One of them is a kid who made a mistake and doesn't like talking to the press. The other knew exactly what he was doing.


Thats fair. I'm not saying I'm glad that Smith wrote the article. I'm just saying that I don't care that he wrote it and that based on what I do know of Tyrus, it strikes me as a plausable description of his personality. I wrote at length prior to the draft that despite my support for him as a potential draftee, I was very worried about his attitude and maturity level as evidenced by the draftexpress.com interview and the comments of his own college coach.


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## fl_flash (Aug 19, 2002)

MikeDC said:


> On more point. Earilier in the year Smith was throwing out there earlier in the season what appeared to be an annecdote about players were griping about Skiles' hypocrisy in dealing with Chandler vs. Wallace. He gave all sorts of little annecdotes that cast Wallace, and sometimes others (Skiles is one I can obviously think of) in a negative light. Strong stuff.
> 
> And yet he can't even get an oblique, minor, or trivial negative about Thomas' behavior towards his coaches and teammates? The best he can come up with is his tear-jerker about Thabo and the tape guy and the fact that "league sources" said he was abrupt with the media back at draft time?
> 
> ...


Interesting take on things. Overall, I'd generally agree with ya. Seems like this is as much Sam Smith exercising his 5th amendment rights to smear someone he doesn't praticularly like as much as it is Tyrus Thomas being a petulant youth...

It's hard to know in what context Tyrus' initial response was. He strikes me as a rather emotional individual. That can be both good and bad. I'm a rather non-emotional person and for the most part, really emotional folks don't make much sense to me. My wife is an Italian cauldron of emotions. Passionate and pig-headed to the n-th degree. I admire her passion but question her use of it because she doesn't know when to quit or shut up. She get's on my case 'cause she says I'm too damned analytical. We make a heck of a team!

Anyways, Thomas seems like the kind of person who wears his heart on his sleeve. I'm thinking this question was posed to Thomas after he'd gotten another DNP-CD (or only a couple of token minutes) and he probably wasn't too happy about it. Especially after knowing Noce was out and his minutes had to go somewhere - they didn't go to him. The kid didn't feel like talking; was pretty upset and gave a smarmy, stupid response. This kid seems to relish the big moment. He's gone from a media darling during the NCAA's to pretty much a nobody in a matter of months. I'm guessing he's having a hard time reconciling that.

I get the impression that he's a good teammate. I also sense that he's not really happy in his role here. He thought he'd be more than he is now and reality has set in that this is going to be a lot of work. I tend to agree with MikeDC insomuch as he doesn't seem to be difficult in terms of being a coachable basketball player. He's emotional and doesn't seem all that fond/trusting of journalists. I don't know if that gives a guy like Sam Smith the right to take a single quote (possibly completely out of context) and rip him a new one. 

I'm hoping the kid has a whole lot of Gilbert Arenas in him and takes these perceived "slights" and uses them to motivate himself to get better. The talent is there. Now he needs to put in the work like he's never done before.


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## RoRo (Aug 21, 2002)

sam smith is supposed to be the nba and chicago bull insider. he's merely trying to get his two cents on kc's "scoop." oh yeah sam knew this all along.

"The Bulls rookie, *likely*spending time these days in the Latrell Sprewell school of public relations..."

"here was a player *appearing *to confirm just what many believe..."

a Gary Hart reference. lol. why not bring up MJ?

Thabo picks up his clothes and tape. That makes Tyrus a bad man (but by association doesn't that make the rest of the bulls bad people?).

"There always *seemed* to be some bizarre sense of entitlement with him, 

"So how did the Bulls end up drafting Thomas? My *guess*is it wasn't a very good draft, and they decided to take a chance on talent

"I would just hope he keeps his mouth shut, lets his play speak and permits us to believe he's someone different than we *know*.

How much do you really know Sam? Thank goodness today is a game day hopefully we'll have something worthwhile to discuss and Sam can have something to write about.


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## Soulful Sides (Oct 10, 2005)

> The NBA is looking to remove Chicago Bulls rookie Tyrus Thomas from the all-star slam-dunk competition and replace him, a prominent agent has told us.


http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/sports_magic/2007/02/source_nba_look.html


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## Ron Cey (Dec 27, 2004)

Soulful Sides said:


> http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/sports_magic/2007/02/source_nba_look.html


Well, I hate to sound like a disloyal fan and all, but that is exactly what I think the NBA should do to him. I don't want that to happen. But it would certainly be a reasonable response by the league.

It is an appropriate response to what he said, and though it won't eliminate this story completely, it will reduce it somewhat. Because if Thomas is there, the commentators are going to be talking about it alot. If he's replaced, they'll probably just mention the replacement and the reason and that will be the end of it.

As a fan, though, it concerns me. I've always been concerned that Thomas is mentally fragile. I don't know that he is. But I've been concerned about it since day 1. I'd hope that he'd use this as motivation and spin it into a positive, but I fear it might just ruin his attitude.


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## TomBoerwinkle#1 (Jul 31, 2002)

fl_flash said:


> Seems like this is as much Sam Smith exercising his *5th amendment* rights to smear someone he doesn't praticularly like as much as it is Tyrus Thomas being a petulant youth...


Amendment 5

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation. 


---------------

Sorry to act like douchebag lawyer scum, but, well, I Yam What I Yam...

You mean 1st Amendment. 

Thus endeth the lesson.

TB#1
Bottom Feeding Pettifogger


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## ScottMay (Jun 15, 2002)

Ron Cey said:


> Well, I hate to sound like a disloyal fan and all, but that is exactly what I think the NBA should do to him.
> 
> It is an appropriate response to what he said, and though it won't eliminate this story completely, it will reduce it somewhat. Because if Thomas is there, the commentators are going to be talking about it alot. If he's replaced, they'll probably just mention the replacement and the reason and that will be the end of it.


I am in total agreement.

On a different, completely conjectural note, I wonder if Thomas's inclusion in the contest wasn't the NBA's way of acknowledging that the Bulls' getting shut out of All-Star weekend was wrong. He's not a particularly artistic dunker, he doesn't have a ton of name recognition, and he hasn't played much. So I can understand the NBA's logic in kicking out a guy they probably had to argue themselves into inviting in the first place.


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## Rhyder (Jul 15, 2002)

transplant said:


> My take FWIW.
> 
> I wasn't bothered by what Thomas originally said, but I can certainly understand why the NBA and Bulls management didn't like it. Tyrus kind of let go a floater in the NBA's All Star Weekend swimming pool.
> 
> ...


I think this is what Paxson was attempting to avoid by releasing the amount of the fine. Had Paxson done nothing and left it up to the league, it would create a national story about some kid only wanting to participate in All-Star weekend because of the money. It would be talked about, irregardless of the league's decision to keep him in the competition or not, no matter how innocent or what the context of his comments actually were.

Now the league can spin it as Tyrus being a young guy learning a life lesson, and he can continue to remain in the competition. The casual fan needs to see that Tyrus made a stupid statement and is not benefiting from it.

This is a PR problem, not a Bulls organization problem. People as informed as we are can see right through all the hoopla. However, we are not the majority. The casual "headline reading to create their impressions about players and the game" fans are. I think they are trying to avoid another "feed his family" type frenzy. Sure it's funny to us, but it's detrimental to the game as a whole.


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## fl_flash (Aug 19, 2002)

TomBoerwinkle#1 said:


> Amendment 5
> 
> No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
> 
> ...



Doh! I stand (or sit and type) corrected! Shoulda paid more attention in US Govenment classes! :biggrin:


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## TomBoerwinkle#1 (Jul 31, 2002)

If he gets uninvited, it doesn't do the league much good, since it won't unring that bell.

Peeps is still gonna talk. I doubt it will just be a casual mention and then move on, like Ron hopes.

The worst part of uninviting him is that the only good coming out of this whole fiasco is TT's high school stood to get a donation.

I kinda doubt the check gets written if Tyrus stays home and orders Papa Johns on all star weekend.


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## ScottMay (Jun 15, 2002)

TomBoerwinkle#1 said:


> The worst part of uninviting him is that the only good coming out of this whole fiasco is TT's high school stood to get a donation.


If we take up a collection, I hope no one's offended if I opt out. I gave it all to Chris Duhon, and he gave it to some kids so they could buy satin dresses and have prom at DisneyWorld.

(Yes, still bitter -- well, not bitter, but the way I saw things, I thought I was helping to buy lumber and condensed milk and sump pumps and that sort of thing. Whatever.)


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## TomBoerwinkle#1 (Jul 31, 2002)

ScottMay said:


> If we take up a collection, I hope no one's offended if I opt out.


No offense taken, Scottie...I mean Scott.


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## MikeDC (Jul 16, 2002)

Ron Cey said:


> But there is substantiation. There is this incident and the draftexpress.com interview. Both of which are entirely consistent with Smith's general portrayal.


I disagree. To me, at least, not having a lot of time or desire to sit around and stroke people like Sam Smith doesn't substantiate you as a spoiled, rotten jerk.
Or they guys from Draft Express.

It's substantiates the idea that he could care less about the press. That's worlds away from treating "the little people" like garbage or being a jerk in general. Smith provided no substantiation of that at all.

Maybe the best way to get across my point is by comparing him to some other guys.

Look, Jalen Rose never met a reporter he didn't like. He also happens to be a heck of a contributor to his community (off the court). The former counts for absolutely nothing in my book. His job isn't to talk to the press. The latter counts for something. It doesn't make me want him in Chicago, but I'd at least go so far as to say that even if he was a Tyrus-like interview, I wouldn't call him a spoiled rotten jerk.

I don't know what Thomas gives or doesn't give. If I heard something that suggested he was a complete tool to real world people off the court (not people who get paid to question him), it might start to make me think along the lines of him being a spoiled, rotten jerk. 

Even then, does that make Scottie Pippen a spoiled, rotten jerk? He treated a variety of real life nobodies badly, from the accounts I've heard. I have to say that really doesn't have that much sway with me either. Not that I like it, but that I don't recall him being heard to have bad relationships with teammates or coaches, people he has an immediate and important relationship with. If I heard that, then I think it might be appropriate.

Tyrus Thomas is a kid with no media savvy and probably no desire for it. I have a lot of sympathy for that. I haven't heard anything that substantiates him even having a No-Tippin Pippen-like treatment of "the little people". I haven't heard anything that substantiates him as having a poor relationship with coaches or teammates.

Those are things that matter. I would appreciate it had he done good journalism and demonstrated something of real relevance like that. Sam Smith not being treated like the Grand Poobah of Chicago basketball journalists means **** all to me, and I think Thomases original comments were not too big a deal either. Is Pip a spoiled jerk? If he his, only thing separating Tyrus and him is Smith's cowardice in calling one a jerk and not the other. Or maybe it's the fact that Pip showed some sort of deference to Smith while not tipping anyone else that's the difference. At least, that's the way it seems to me... all about Smith.



> Indeed, I think Smith could have made him look far, far worse had he provided the detail you are asking for.


But he didn't, and I think it's because he couldn't because there's nothing there. Smith couldn't get anything, however minor, about Thomas along those lines. It's not like he (Smith) hasn't aired embarrassing things about the Bulls staff in the past. Why wouldn't he throw a _little _something out there if he had it? Surely he could have come up with something better than a towel-boy annecdote if there was some smoke there. If Smith had shown something, even something fairly trivial, that suggested a problem with coaches or teammates, that'd be something worth talking about as spoiled, rotten, jerk-like behavior. This, however, is much made over nothing.


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## jnrjr79 (Apr 18, 2003)

fl_flash said:


> Interesting take on things. Overall, I'd generally agree with ya. Seems like this is as much Sam Smith exercising his 5th amendment rights to smear someone he doesn't praticularly like as much as it is Tyrus Thomas being a petulant youth...


I fail to see how Sam is exercising his right against self-incrimination in this situation.



:biggrin:


EDIT: I see you beat me to it, Boerwinkle. Let's settle this one in front of the judge, then. Freaking lawyers.


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## TomBoerwinkle#1 (Jul 31, 2002)

MikeDC said:


> I disagree. To me, at least, not having a lot of time or desire to sit around and stroke people like Sam Smith doesn't substantiate you as a spoiled, rotten jerk.
> Or they guys from Draft Express.
> 
> It's substantiates the idea that he could care less about the press. That's worlds away from treating "the little people" like garbage or being a jerk in general. Smith provided no substantiation of that at all.
> ...


:clap2: You GO, Girl!!! :yay: 

You got it right on.


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## TomBoerwinkle#1 (Jul 31, 2002)

jnrjr79 said:


> EDIT: I see you beat me to it, Boerwinkle. Let's settle this one in front of the judge, then. Freaking lawyers.












He's waiting to preside over the rumble.

Lets GO!


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## transplant (Jul 31, 2002)

TomBoerwinkle#1 said:


> If he gets uninvited, it doesn't do the league much good, since it won't unring that bell.
> 
> Peeps is still gonna talk. I doubt it will just be a casual mention and then move on, like Ron hopes.
> 
> ...


First off counselor, I see the uninvite as good old fashioned country justice...he belittled their party, so they tell him to stay home. Works for me.

Second, I do think the story dies faster by uninviting. If I was a fan who paid to attend the slam dunk event (wow, I've really entered the land of make believe on this one), I might boo Tyrus or bring a sign or something.

Third, if they uninvite Thomas, the NBA might actually replace him with someone who wants to be there, has some interest in entertaining the fans, and maybe even improves the event.

Last, if Thomas stays here in Chicago for the weekend and orders pizza, if he orders Papa John's he's a bigger idiot than I think he is...he can do a lot better than that.


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## Ron Cey (Dec 27, 2004)

transplant said:


> Last, if Thomas stays here in Chicago for the weekend and orders pizza, if he orders Papa John's he's a bigger idiot than I think he is...he can do a lot better than that.


Totally. Cheesy-Bites Pizza from Pizza Hut is back!!


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## TomBoerwinkle#1 (Jul 31, 2002)

transplant said:


> First off counselor, I see the uninvite as good old fashioned country justice...he belittled their party, so they tell him to stay home. Works for me.
> 
> Second, I do think the story dies faster by uninviting. If I was a fan who paid to attend the slam dunk event (wow, I've really entered the land of make believe on this one), I might boo Tyrus or bring a sign or something.
> 
> ...


I can't really disagree with any of those points.

Especially the Papa John's thing.

While I do miss the big name deep dish pizzas from Chicago, I miss the plain old, greasy neighborhood regular crust pizzas as much, or more. Bacino's. Ledo's. Barone's. Henry's in Palos Hills. The legendary Fox's Pub.

EDIT:

OOOOH! Joy! This prompted me to do a google search and it turns out there is an Aurelio's in Naples -- which is a mre 3 hour drive from me!

I haven't had a decent pizza in nearly a year and a half. Aurelio's isn't my favorite, but I'll take it!!!

There is also a Giordano's in Brandon, which isn't far, and several Pizzeria Uno's near Orlando (although the chains aren't nearly as good as the original Unos).


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## MikeDC (Jul 16, 2002)

Ron Cey said:


> Well, I hate to sound like a disloyal fan and all, but that is exactly what I think the NBA should do to him. I don't want that to happen. But it would certainly be a reasonable response by the league.
> 
> It is an appropriate response to what he said, and though it won't eliminate this story completely, it will reduce it somewhat. Because if Thomas is there, the commentators are going to be talking about it alot. If he's replaced, they'll probably just mention the replacement and the reason and that will be the end of it.


Agree with this.



> As a fan, though, it concerns me. I've always been concerned that Thomas is mentally fragile. I don't know that he is. But I've been concerned about it since day 1. I'd hope that he'd use this as motivation and spin it into a positive, but I fear it might just ruin his attitude.


Agree with this too. Now couple that with...



Rhyder said:


> *This is a PR problem, not a Bulls organization problem. *People as informed as we are can see right through all the hoopla. However, we are not the majority. The casual "headline reading to create their impressions about players and the game" fans are. I think they are trying to avoid another "feed his family" type frenzy. Sure it's funny to us, but it's detrimental to the game as a whole.


... and my point is that, while the Bulls probably need to say something, they would have been best served by saying as little as possible and letting the league handle it.

That way, if Thomas gets mad at anyone, it's the league, and the Bulls can play a supporting, guiding role with him, minimizing the public embarrassment he's getting, at least from them. Heh, maybe he gets mad and starts playing better. If the Bulls take it to him, maybe he just gets mad and sulks.

If it's obvious that the league was going to teach this lesson from the get-go, just let them, and conserve your own "capital" for other lessons.


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## MikeDC (Jul 16, 2002)

Here at the DC household, Saturday's lunch was a frozen pizza from Costco. Sunday's lunch was a home made italian sausage pizza. Monday's lunch was another Costco pizza. Today's lunch was an individual sized frozen pizza. I might be in a rut, but I don't care.


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## TomBoerwinkle#1 (Jul 31, 2002)

MikeDC said:


> Here at the DC household, Saturday's lunch was a frozen pizza from Costco. Sunday's lunch was a home made italian sausage pizza. Monday's lunch was another Costco pizza. Today's lunch was an individual sized frozen pizza. I might be in a rut, but I don't care.


When you have 2 babies in the house, eating like that is called...survival.


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## Ron Cey (Dec 27, 2004)

TomBoerwinkle#1 said:


> I can't really disagree with any of those points.
> 
> Especially the Papa John's thing.
> 
> ...


Have you, or anyone for that matter, ever ordered a Giordano's or Lou Malnati's through the mail? 

They offer them on their websites (Giordano's won't ship pizzas with meat toppings). 

http://www.tastesofchicago.com/category/1

http://www.giordanos.com/shop/home.php?cat=1

Its a little pricey, but I'd be willing to do it every once in awhile if I knew they turned out well.


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## TomBoerwinkle#1 (Jul 31, 2002)

OK.

Now that I'm truly jonesin', I want a sausage pizza from the original Uno's, a juicy beef sandwich from Original Mr. Beef, with provolone and hot and sweet peppers, suicide wings and an order of Buffalo cheese fries from Buffalo Joe's in Evanston, a Smoky Bernstein sandwich from Perry's Deli, a Gold Coast dog "run through the garden," a gyro from Parthanon, a steak burrito from El Famous Burrito and a half dozen White Castle cheeseburgers, with everything. And a Coke.

Oh, and a slice of Ely's cheesecake and a Rainbow Cone for desert.


Schedule my quadruple bypass for Thursday at 11.


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## Rhyder (Jul 15, 2002)

MikeDC said:


> ... and my point is that, while the Bulls probably need to say something, they would have been best served by saying as little as possible and letting the league handle it.
> 
> That way, if Thomas gets mad at anyone, it's the league, and the Bulls can play a supporting, guiding role with him, minimizing the public embarrassment he's getting, at least from them. Heh, maybe he gets mad and starts playing better. If the Bulls take it to him, maybe he just gets mad and sulks.
> 
> If it's obvious that the league was going to teach this lesson from the get-go, just let them, and conserve your own "capital" for other lessons.


Paxson indicated that he spoke with Tyrus before announcing the fine. I would assume that meant he called to get his side of the story, explained to Tyrus why his comment seemed so bad on the surface, and to explain what he thought was the appropriate course of action. I also assume he would explain why they were making the fine public, and be sure to get Tyrus on the same page. 

Tyrus clearly responded in a professional manner after his mistake, and never took the bait when KC gave him his "out" in asking if he made those comments as a sign of frustration about not playing. To me, that would indicate some sort of planned response.

If my interpretation of how events went is accurate, I could not see Tyrus getting mad at the organization.

Had Paxson done nothing, kicking Tyrus out of the competition probably would have been the correct response by the league. Paxson did something, Tyrus is allowed to save a little face, and could still participate in the competition he seemed excited about when he learned he was in the running.


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## TomBoerwinkle#1 (Jul 31, 2002)

Ron Cey said:


> Have you, or anyone for that matter, ever ordered a Giordano's or Lou Malnati's through the mail?
> 
> They offer them on their websites (Giordano's won't ship pizzas with meat toppings).
> 
> ...


Never tried it. I know our posters were pretty happy with the Carson's Ribs(oooooh...add a slab of those to my wish list, and some chicken and fritters from White Fence Farm).

I have purchased frozen Unos pizzas and frozen White Castles fromt he grocery store. They turned out...better than nothing.


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## ScottMay (Jun 15, 2002)

I went to a Super Bowl party where the host had ordered some pizzas from Gino's East. It was not totally like the real thing, but it was the best of those overnighted Chicago-style pizza/dogs/beef that I've ever tasted. I'd rate it as a 6/10 on the "authenticity/taste" scale.

The drawbacks -- they're something like $30 each, plus obscene delivery fees, and wrestling with a giant tub of dry ice is never exactly a walk in the park.

EDIT: I didn't see Ron's post. The Giordanos I have had were a pale facsimile of the original, but edible. The Malnatis were terrible. I got a few as a gift, and maybe I did something wrong in the preparation, but it just didn't turn out well.


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## Ron Cey (Dec 27, 2004)

TomBoerwinkle#1 said:


> Never tried it. I know our posters were pretty happy with the Carson's Ribs(oooooh...add a slab of those to my wish list, and some chicken and fritters from White Fence Farm).
> 
> I have purchased frozen Unos pizzas and frozen White Castles fromt he grocery store. They turned out...better than nothing.


I think the Uno's and White Castles stuff is mass produced - like getting TGIFriday's wings or poppers in the frozen foods section.

The Giordano's and Malnati's (actually saw the Malnati's thing on Food Network) are hand made, flash frozen and shipped. Evidently, they are supposed to be pretty much like have an original made in the restaurant, and then taking it home to your own oven to bake it. 

I dunno. I've never spoken with anyone who tried it from Giordano's - and since I can't order it with sausage I'm inclined to ignore that option - but I do know one guy who, upon moving away from Chicago, received 10 Malnati's from friends and family. He said they were damn good.

You might want to give it a try if you get on a serious jones.


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## MikeDC (Jul 16, 2002)

Rhyder said:


> Paxson indicated that he spoke with Tyrus before announcing the fine. I would assume that meant he called to get his side of the story, explained to Tyrus why his comment seemed so bad on the surface, and to explain what he thought was the appropriate course of action. I also assume he would explain why they were making the fine public, and be sure to get Tyrus on the same page.
> 
> Tyrus clearly responded in a professional manner after his mistake, and never took the bait when KC gave him his "out" in asking if he made those comments as a sign of frustration about not playing. To me, that would indicate some sort of planned response.


I agree, and just to clarify, my point earlier in the thread about Tyrus' response being a good one was that it seemed a "professional" one, whether it was sincere or not. I think he was clueless, but after being called on the carpet, responded with as good a response (coached or not) as we might expect.



> If my interpretation of how events went is accurate, I could not see Tyrus getting mad at the organization.


My thinking is more that he did not get mad at the organization. I do continue to think he's prone to getting mad, so there was the risk he could have. I would have rather the Bulls did less publically, but I think the fact Pax talked to him up front and did make a supportive public statement) was a very good thing.



> Had Paxson done nothing, kicking Tyrus out of the competition probably would have been the correct response by the league. Paxson did something, Tyrus is allowed to save a little face, and could still participate in the competition he seemed excited about when he learned he was in the running.


You could be right. Of course, i he gets kicked out anyway, he might just be fickle and angry at everyone anyway. That's what you get with 21 year old multimillionaires.


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## TomBoerwinkle#1 (Jul 31, 2002)

Ron Cey said:


> The Giordano's and Malnati's (actually saw the Malnati's thing on Food Network) are hand made, flash frozen and shipped. Evidently, they are supposed to be pretty much like have an original made in the restaurant, and then taking it home to your own oven to bake it.
> 
> I dunno. I've never spoken with anyone who tried it from Giordano's - and since I can't order it with sausage I'm inclined to ignore that option - but I do know one guy who, upon moving away from Chicago, received 10 Malnati's from friends and family. He said they were damn good.
> 
> ...


I might. Like you, though, the thought of a deep dish pizza with no sausage is kinda like kissing your sister.

Not that I've ever kissed your sister.

Would you mind?

Is she cute?

Answer the second question first.



Right now, I'm trying to come up with a scheme to find a way to convince my wife to take the 20 minute trip to go to that Giordano's I found in Brandon, even though she has been following her New Years Resolution Atkins diet semi-religiously.


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## ScottMay (Jun 15, 2002)

Ron Cey said:


> Evidently, they are supposed to be pretty much like have an original made in the restaurant, and then taking it home to your own oven to bake it.


My general complaint about the ones I've sampled is that they are basically like 3/4 the size of what you get when you're there in person. I don't know if they cut back on the ingredients for the overnight pizzas, or if it's got something to do with being encased in dry ice and flying 37,000 feet in the air.


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## Ron Cey (Dec 27, 2004)

> I might. Like you, though, the thought of a deep dish pizza with no sausage is kinda like kissing your sister.


True. 



> Not that I've ever kissed your sister.


Nor could you. 



> Would you mind?


If I had one . . . yes, probably. 



> Is she cute?


If she existed, we'd have drawn from the same gene pool. So, no. She wouldn't be cute at all. 



> Answer the second question first.


Oops. 



> Right now, I'm trying to come up with a scheme to find a way to convince my wife to take the 20 minute trip to go to that Giordano's I found in Brandon, even though she has been following her New Years Resolution Atkins diet semi-religiously.


Its times like this that you have to ask yourself: Whose needs are more important, mine or my wife's? 

Do I care more about her long term self-image, or my short term appetite? 

Do I care if both my wife and I are fat? 

For me, the answer to all of these questions would inevitably lead pizza in my mouth.


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## Ron Cey (Dec 27, 2004)

ScottMay said:


> My general complaint about the ones I've sampled is that they are basically like 3/4 the size of what you get when you're there in person. I don't know if they cut back on the ingredients for the overnight pizzas, or if it's got something to do with being encased in dry ice and flying 37,000 feet in the air.


I appreciate the input. Given the obscenely high price, it would pretty much require universal praise for me to order them. You probably just saved me $100 bucks.


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## RoRo (Aug 21, 2002)

Ron Cey said:


> Have you, or anyone for that matter, ever ordered a Giordano's or Lou Malnati's through the mail?
> 
> They offer them on their websites (Giordano's won't ship pizzas with meat toppings).
> 
> ...


ordered some Malnati's for the Superbowl. Next day shipping. Ships with dry ice. $60 flat. Got 3 pizzas and the Eli's sampler. All things considered $60 is cheap (next day to Seattle) but probably only a special event kinda thing. Everyone loved it and wanted to know the website address too. Sasusage pizza is especially delishous.


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## jnrjr79 (Apr 18, 2003)

TomBoerwinkle#1 said:


> He's waiting to preside over the rumble.
> 
> Lets GO!


If just once in my entire life I stepped up in front of the bench to argue a motion and Judge Reinhold was presiding, my legal career would be entirely complete.


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## TomBoerwinkle#1 (Jul 31, 2002)




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## jnrjr79 (Apr 18, 2003)

Wow, the last few pages of this thread have made me resolve to go home an order a nice, big deep dish pizza from The Art of Pizza tonight. That's my favorite deep dish joint. It's on Ashland between Wellington and Belmont. It must be tough living so far from Chicago.

Suckers.


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## TomBoerwinkle#1 (Jul 31, 2002)

I'm not going to be ordering that pizza, but I am going to go home, change into shorts and a t-shirt and sit next to the pool with a beer.

How 'bout you?


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## jnrjr79 (Apr 18, 2003)

TomBoerwinkle#1 said:


> I'm not going to be ordering that pizza, but I am going to go home, change into shorts and a t-shirt and sit next to the pool with a beer.
> 
> How 'bout you?


Well played, sir. I'm going to change into a t-shirt and jeans, have a beer, and think about how this month's heaing bill is going to be $250. Oh, and I'm going to freeze my *** off waiting for the El on the way home.

I shall, however, not be entirely surrounded by old people.


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## transplant (Jul 31, 2002)

Besides making me hungry, all this talk from former residents about the great food in the Chicago area makes me glad I never left.

TB, I think it was you who talked about the greasy thin crust from the neighborhood joints. I'm a BIG fan (literally and figuratively) and it's a delicacy that apparently isn't conducive to the freezing process (closest are the Home Run Inn frozen pizzas). I've also never been able to find anything comparable on business trips, and I don't get that...I mean, how can several hundred Chicago mom & pop dives get it right and when you leave the Greater Metropolitan Area and the secret is lost?

I've sent the Malnati's and gotten good reviews. I've also sent the Vienna Italian Beef kits (beef, juice, rolls and giardiniera) and gotten raves. As for the dogs, don't you have Vienna dogs at your grocers? Vienna also now is selling sport peppers (very good) and the luminescent green relish. Don't forget the celery salt.

God, I'm starving!


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## MikeDC (Jul 16, 2002)




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## Darius Miles Davis (Aug 2, 2002)

I haven't read this whole thread, but this story is getting major national news exposure. If Tyrus doesn't somehow withdraw from the contest, he's going to get booed, which would be some seriously bad press for the NBA and for the Bulls. 

I think he should pull out.


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## TomBoerwinkle#1 (Jul 31, 2002)

Darius Miles Davis said:


> If Tyrus doesn't somehow withdraw from the contest, he's going to get booed, which would be some seriously bad press for the NBA and for the Bulls.
> 
> I think he should pull out.


The Rhythm Method dunk just may be a winner!


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## JeremyB0001 (Nov 17, 2003)

Ron Cey said:


> Tyrus Thomas has made himself look like an arrogant, self-entitled, *** twice in the last 8 months. Publicly. And who knows what else he's said?


http://www.draftexpress.com/viewarticle.php?a=1336

I don't really agree with that as a characterization of the DraftExpress interview. Overwhelmed, defensive, somewhat hostile? Sure. Maybe he comes across as somewhat over-confident when he says what he's working on is that he's not perfect and that he can play three in the league but there are a lot of other ways to interpret those comments. I don't really see an inflated belief in his all around game that led him to believe he could play the three as arrogance. Considering we're talking about someone who is not well spoken, the comment that he needs to work on not being perfect strikes me more as emphasizing his belief that he has a well rounded game (ie there aren't specific skills that he struggles with and needs to focus on) more than that he is already great at everything.

I'm curious what struck you as arrogance and self-entitlment in the interview because those are pretty strong words. He's very complimentary of Aldridge and deflects the question (albeit poorly) of where he should go in the draft as opposed to saying he should be drafted first. It just strikes me more as crazy, unwound, and paranoid than arrogant.


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## TomBoerwinkle#1 (Jul 31, 2002)

transplant said:


> TB, I think it was you who talked about the greasy thin crust from the neighborhood joints. I'm a BIG fan (literally and figuratively) and it's a delicacy that apparently isn't conducive to the freezing process (closest are the Home Run Inn frozen pizzas). I've also never been able to find anything comparable on business trips, and I don't get that...I mean, how can several hundred Chicago mom & pop dives get it right and when you leave the Greater Metropolitan Area and the secret is lost?


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago-style_pizza

In addition to Chicago-style deep-dish pizza, there is also a thin-crust pizza unique to Chicago, sometimes referred to as "flat" pizza[3]. Although it is more difficult to obtain outside Chicagoland and much less famous than the stuffed pizza, Chicago thin-crust pizza outsells its famous cousin by a high margin in the Chicagoland area.[citation needed] The crust is thin and firm enough to have a noticeable crunch, unlike a New York-style pizza, yet thick enough to be soft and doughy on the top.

The crust is topped with a liberal quantity of southern-Italian style tomato sauce, which is usually quite herbal or highly spiced, and typically contains no visible chunks of tomato. Next, a layer of toppings is added, and a layer of mozzarella cheese which frequently separates from the bottom crust due to the quantity of tomato sauce.

Traditionally, this pizza is cut into squares, also known as "party cut" or "Chicago cut," as opposed to a "pie cut" into wedges. The consistency of the crust and the quality and quantity of the tomato sauce and cheese are what separate this style from East Coast-, Roman- and St. Louis-style pizzas, and it makes the pizza from neighborhood pizzerias immediately distinguishable from that offered by national chains such as Papa John's or Pizza Hut.


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## ScottMay (Jun 15, 2002)

transplant said:


> I've also never been able to find anything comparable on business trips, and I don't get that...I mean, how can several hundred Chicago mom & pop dives get it right and when you leave the Greater Metropolitan Area and the secret is lost?


This phenomenon is actually even more pronounced, imo, with New York-style pizza (I don't want to open a big can of worms here, but I prefer the New York style -- you can't touch how sublime good coal- or wood-oven NY style pizza is). 

The leading theory is that it has something to do with the water. That wouldn't explain the crap that passes for mozzarella cheese around most of the country, or the abominable sauces, but it does explain the too-thick, formless, spongy crusts. To an extent.

Can we remove all the extraneous Tyrus Thomas chatter from this thread, please? Give him a Johnnies's combo, sweet and wet, and tell him to get over himself.


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## transplant (Jul 31, 2002)

ScottMay said:


> Can we remove all the extraneous Tyrus Thomas chatter from this thread, please? Give him a Johnnies's combo, sweet and wet, and tell him to get over himself.


:clap: 

Made me laugh out loud. Thanks.


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## TomBoerwinkle#1 (Jul 31, 2002)

oooooooooooooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh


I'm spent.


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## JeremyB0001 (Nov 17, 2003)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*



johnston797 said:


> Sorry to continue to take this OT, but this I don't recall such overwhelming praise. And I'm even more dubious of it now than at draft time.


Obviously I don't recall specifics myself, I just don't know where else it would come from. I've been following the draft closely for some time and never recall seeing any quote along the lines of "[the draftee] claims he is a hard worker." Maybe you would for instance read a longer piece that's an interview with let's say Tyrus' mother where in one paragraph she says something like "Tyrus has always been dedicated. I can remember him getting up at 5 A.M. every morning to go to the gym." but people - even fans - rarely take that sort of thing and run with it. I'm just basing my comments on my observations of sports journalism throughout my life.


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## MikeDC (Jul 16, 2002)

ScottMay said:


> This phenomenon is actually even more pronounced, imo, with New York-style pizza (I don't want to open a big can of worms here, but I prefer the New York style -- you can't touch how sublime good coal- or wood-oven NY style pizza is).
> 
> The leading theory is that it has something to do with the water. That wouldn't explain the crap that passes for mozzarella cheese around most of the country, or the abominable sauces, but it does explain the too-thick, formless, spongy crusts. To an extent.
> 
> Can we remove all the extraneous Tyrus Thomas chatter from this thread, please? Give him a Johnnies's combo, sweet and wet, and tell him to get over himself.


I wouldn't think it would be the water, because you can get good New York style in Jersey, and I can't figure the water in Jersey to be the same as in NYC... or for that matter good for anything that tastes good.

The Costco frozen pizza crust is noticeably above average. It's strange.

Ive never tried any of the Chicago take out ones. If I want a good pizza, I usually make it myself. The pre-made Boboli crusts aren't bad, especially if you pre-treat them by putting some olive oil, spices and a bit of parmesan on them and broiling them for a couple minutes prior to topping them out with sauce, cheese and toppings.

Find some Mid's Italian Sausage sauce and fresh mozzarella and you've got something going. Add fresh italian sausage, mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, and maybe a pepper and you're in good shape. Doesn't take much longer than frozen but it's a hell of a lot better.

This concludes my food porn for the day... back to the diet. You *******s.


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## JeremyB0001 (Nov 17, 2003)

Heh. I was responding to posts four pages back and didn't realize that Tyrus was no longer the conversation du jour. Apologies if I ruined the mood.


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## mizenkay (Dec 29, 2003)

*the "free money" story* - as it was referred to on both _PTI_ and _Around the Horn_ has legs, so carb up with those pizzas boys, cause we've got _at least_ until tomorrow night when the TNT crew gets on it. imagine sir charles has a few thoughts. it's not going away until then. 

FWIW -- mariotti agreed with the fine - only michael smith ripped into the bulls for it, and applauded tyrus for saying what everyone is thinking. the others chided TT big time. 

and interestingly (or not) both wilbon and tony said the bulls shouldn't have fined tyrus. the bulls should have said "ok, then you're not going to the contest" and thus, no free money. both called him a total knucklehead. 

as far as making the amount public, i have no problem with it, since the story is about money to begin with. 




geez, this thread's makin' me a bit peckish.


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## spongyfungy (Oct 22, 2003)

mizenkay said:


> *the "free money" story* - as it was referred to on both _PTI_ and _Around the Horn_ has legs, so carb up with those pizzas boys, cause we've got _at least_ until tomorrow night when the TNT crew gets on it. imagine sir charles has a few thoughts. it's not going away until then.
> 
> FWIW -- mariotti agreed with the fine - only michael smith ripped into the bulls for it, and applauded tyrus for saying what everyone is thinking. the others chided TT big time.
> 
> ...


I think chuck is going to love what he said.


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## TomBoerwinkle#1 (Jul 31, 2002)

I think Chuck would love a dinner at White Fence Farm in Romeoville...










Sorry, but I've been homesick lately and this food thing...well taking about it both helps and hurts, I guess.


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## bullybullz (Jan 28, 2007)

In a Nov/Dec 2006 Hoop Magazine, Thomas and other rookies were interviewed and he was asked what his motto or slogan is that defines him and he replies back "Can't get to the rainbow without going through the rain."

Looks like a good statement for this issue/his game and whether or not Tyrus was actually serious or not about his comments is a story we will never know for sure.


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## MikeDC (Jul 16, 2002)

bullybullz said:


> In a Nov/Dec 2006 Hoop Magazine, Thomas and other rookies were interviewed and he was asked what his motto or slogan is that defines him and he replies back "Can't get to the rainbow without going through the rain."
> 
> Looks like a good statement for this issue/his game and whether or not Tyrus was actually serious or not about his comments is a story we will never know for sure.


I think John Amaechi used that same slogan.


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## bullybullz (Jan 28, 2007)

MikeDC said:


> I think John Amaechi used that same slogan.


HaHa. LOL.


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## mizenkay (Dec 29, 2003)

pax is on ESPN 1000 right now!

http://sports.espn.go.com/stations/espnradio1000/story?id=listenlive

somewhat verbatim:

"i felt i needed to send a statement to everyone who watches the bulls saying this is something we won't tolerate" (re: the fine)

"i think when tyrus has another summer to practice and learn he's going to be great for us" - (yes, he used the "P" word"

"tyrus didn't understand the magnitude of what he said." (free money comment)


"this is a great opportunity for tyrus to showcase his athletic ability" (slamdunk contest)


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## narek (Jul 29, 2005)

mizenkay said:


> pax is on ESPN 1000 right now!
> 
> http://sports.espn.go.com/stations/espnradio1000/story?id=listenlive
> 
> ...


Thanks! I wish ESPN 1000 would put up it's interviews.


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## ScottMay (Jun 15, 2002)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*



ScottMay said:


> The only way Howard will win is if he comes up with a dunk in which he rips the stanchion out of the arena floor and swings the whole basket apparatus over his head like he's Godzilla.


I may have been wrong about this.

Howard had planned to raise the rim to 12 feet and execute a 360-degree two-handed dunk, then for his grand finale, lower it to 11.5 feet and do one of those between the legs in mid-air to a one-handed windmill slam finish.

Unfortunately, the league rejected his request to raise the rim (which is easy to do with power hydraulics; it's how Howard has been working on these dunks in practice).

THis is all in Marc Stein's insider blog today.

What a shame -- one of the future greats of the NBA comes up with a great idea that would spur a lot of interest in the competition and give us all something to talk about, and the league says no dice. Ugh.


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## TomBoerwinkle#1 (Jul 31, 2002)

*Re: TT in Dunk Contest*



ScottMay said:


> I may have been wrong about this.
> 
> Howard had planned to raise the rim to 12 feet and execute a 360-degree two-handed dunk, then for his grand finale, lower it to 11.5 feet and do one of those between the legs in mid-air to a one-handed windmill slam finish.
> 
> ...


:sigh:

The leagues' sucks' as' in slam rules.

I normally have little to no interest in the dunk contest. I'm quite content to take a quick peek on the SportsCenter highights.

I would have tuned in to watch Dwight Howard dunking on 12 foot rims.

"¡Qué lástima!"


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## BG7 (Jun 25, 2003)

Tyrus just on ESPN.

He is going to do historic dunks that were done by the judges (A Vince Carter dunk.....OMFG if he does that)

He also said, he has one new dunk, that is going to be BIG.

His interview skills seemed improved...hmm....


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## JeremyB0001 (Nov 17, 2003)

As I've said before, the dunk contest is one area where I have no problem being an unabashed homer. Go Tyrus! On an objecive level I think he has the skills to compete. I'm excited by his interview.


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