Thursday, January 20, 2005
LINK AND THINK
Good morning! Yesterday, I wrote about the arbitration numbers that were given out on Tuesday. The majority of the article was about Johan Santana, and where he ranks compared to a few similar pitchers. I also touched on other related topics. It will be short today as I will just share a number of links that I have bookmarked over the last couple of days, with a couple of my thoughts on each. I hope you will check out the articles. Some are fun. Some are serious. If you have any thoughts on anything you read below, and there is a lot of arbitration numbers and comments, please e-mail me.
LINKS
How to become a millionaire. Got your attention now? I figured I should start with that topic. I saw an interesting article on a book by Thomas Stanley and William Danko called, "The Millionaire Next Door." In the summary, these guys used a survey of over 1,000 millionaires to find if there were any similar traits. Here are seven of them:
They live well below their means.
They allocate their time, energy and money efficiently, in ways conducive to building wealth.
They believe that financial independence is more important than displaying high social status.
Their parents did not provide economic outpatient care.
Their adult children are economically self-sufficient.
They are proficient in targeting market opportunities.
The chose the right occupations.
Sounds simple enough, right? Save and invest a lot of money. Don't buy material things just to look cool. In other words, you don't need a fancy house or vehicle or clothes or all of those toys that people seem to like. It points out that while a paycheck-to-paycheck person may drive a fancy new vehicle, the average millionaire will probably just drive a car that gets them from point A to point B. Big picture, it's not about how you look, but what is your 'net worth'?
I think I'm going to buy this book. I don't pretend to be frugal. If I see something that I want, I tend to buy it. I think I need to find a way to develop more worth and better budget and find a way to have more money to invest.
ESPN2 writer Eric Neel writes a very interesting article on Kevin Garnett titled In Search of a Ring. It is basically telling us that this was supposed to be the year that Garnett got his title, but as those of us who follow the Wolves know, it has not been good so far. It even goes so far as to say that the window is closing. Spree and Cassell are likely gone (and they're old already) and even Garnett (who will soon turn 29) isn't Da Kid anymore.
Speaking of said Wolves, last night, they had another nationally televised game. It was a rematch of last year's Western Conference finals between the Wolves and the LA Lakers, at Staples Center. The Wolves had a small lead much of the game, but Lamar Odom, Chucky Atkins, Caron Butler and Jumaine Jones played well. And really, it was almost all KG for the Wolves, especially down the stretch. Down three with 10 seconds to go, Latrell Sprewell missed a deep three pointer. A long rebound came out to Troy Hudson who caught and shot it in air, and it was off the rim. It was a 3-man team for the Wolves. Garnett had 27 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals. Sprewell had 23 points. Wally Szczerbiak had 17 points and 8 boards. Anthony Carter was the only other player in double-digits had 13 points, and he didn't even play down the stretch. Did I mention the Lakers were without Kobe Bryant? Another bad loss (93-90) to another bad team!
Going into the game, the Gophers men's basketball team was 12-4 overall (2-1 in the Big 10). They were finally playing again on the road, against a 12-5 (1-2) Ohio State team. This is the type of game that could very well tell us where the Gophers are at. And, they came out ready to go. They jumped to an 11 point lead, but with less than a minute remaining, Ohio State tied the score. The game went to overtime, and the Gophers pulled out a 60-56 win. Vincent Grier scored 22 point, grabbed 12 rebounds and even had 5 steals. But Dan Coleman hit some huge shots in overtime to help as well. This is the type of game the Gophers of recent years would have lost. They would have been so down by giving up the lead that they would have collapsed. But this team plays hard at all times and it is fun to see. Maybe it's time to give Dan Monson some credit!
So, Mike Piazza is straight, huh?! That was such a ridiculous, unnecessary story in previous years. And, it's unfortunate that now he's getting married and that issue keeps popping up. He will be marrying former Playboy Playmate Alicia Rikter. Check out the link, but this woman is not very attractive. At least, I don't think so! Note to everyone... leave the man alone!
Remember when there was so much talk about the Twins getting pitcher Kris Benson from the Pirates near the trade deadline last year? He's a very average pitcher, but I was able to find at least one good reason to bring Benson to the Twins... his wife Anna Benson. Recently, ESPN3's Jason McIntyre had an interview with Anna Benson about her husband, their marriage, her life as a young stripper and much more. It is very interesting, as everything Mrs. Benson says is! She says that people tell her she looks like Angelina Jolie. From the pictures on that page, I can't even disagree!
Speaking of ESPN Page 3 and attractive individuals, there was an article on Jennie Finch doing spots for three lines of The Sak handbags. It is a very interesting article about a very busy woman who will be getting married to Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Casey Daigle. Lucky man!
Speaking of lucky men, did you hear the rumors that the San Antonio Spurs Point Guard Tony Parker might be dating Eva Longoria (one of the stars of Desperate Housewives)? Recently she broke up with singer (and former N'Sync member) JC Chasez and has been seen with Parker!
And, the whole Brandy and Quentin Richardson engagement happened a long time ago.
It looks like the possible Hall of Fame career of SS Barry Larkin will come to an end. According to The Sporting News' Ken Rosenthal, there were about 10 teams that showed interest, but none where he would be a starter, or full-time contributor. As much as I like Larkin, I like the idea of him finishing with the team he started with.
Vikings fans - your team has lost a coach. Unable to give offensive coordinator Scott Linehan took a three year contract from the Miami Dolphins yesterday to become their offensive coordinator. The deal was for $2.55 which is almost as much as head coach Mike Tice will make (ok, not quite, but close enough). There is no way that McCombs would have come close to that number!
Speaking of... is it possible that McCombs could really be nearing a deal to sell the team to Arizona businessman Robert Fowler (and a group including Twins Cities car guy Denny Hecker). We can hope something gets done. As a Wolves fan, I'd love to see Glen Taylor own the Vikings, but maybe this other group, with local interests, would be a good option too.
ESPN.com's Tristan Cockroft wrote a fantasy baseball article about pitchers, and who would be candidates to break down or get injured. In it, he lists both Carlos Silva and Johan Santana of the Twins. For Silva, he simply says that he is "too hittable and overworked." For Johan, he says the following, "Santana's relief work early in his major-league career might actually HELP his career more than hurt it. His arm was preserved, and his inclusion should serve more as a warning sign to the Twins not to overuse him two years straight. I wouldn't downgrade Santana at all, but if he throws 225-plus frames again, he'll become a keeper-league risk."
Oh, almost forgot! The highlight, for me, of last night's American Idol episode (which showed the auditions from St. Louis) was listening to the vocals of Osborne Smith. Yes, that is the son of former Cardinal SS Ozzie Smith. He was really good. And then, the whole Adam and Dirk relationship was a little disturbing, almost as disturbing as hearing them sing. And how 'bout the guy that people say sings like Brian McKnight?! When Paula Abdul spit out her pop laughing, I cracked up! I often wonder about that. My friends tell me that I should be on American Idol. Now I wonder if they're just saying that and want me on there to make a fool of myself!!!
Every once in awhile, you will notice that I write about non-sports topics that I find interesting. If there are articles or topics you find interesting, please e-mail me an article or something for me to link to in my Other Thoughts section sometime. Maybe it can create some discussion. I love learning things from new topics, so even if it seems strange, if it interests you, it may interest others. Maybe with a number of these topics, SethSpeaks will have the most well-rounded readers anywhere.
On that note, I am going to call it a day. I hope you all have a great Thursday! If you have any comments, opinions, or ideas for future articles, please e-mail me.