Off Topic VII

LamarMatic7 · Post #621 » by **LamarMatic7** » Mon Mar 23, 2015 9:32 pm

I'm wondering how much does the average American know about the situation in Ukraine and how much are you exposed to it? Seemingly the Charlie Hebdo and ISIS storylines are more prevalent in your media coverage.

Asking this since I would be lying if I said that I'm not afraid about the threat Russia could be against Latvia.

Braggins · Post #622 » by **Braggins** » Tue Mar 24, 2015 2:36 am

Why did realgm start sending me a million email notifications everyday?

Post #623 » by **yosemiteben** » Tue Mar 24, 2015 4:42 pm

Braggins wrote:Why did realgm start sending me a million email notifications everyday?

What do they say? I haven't gotten one before.

Post #624 » by **fatlever** » Tue Mar 24, 2015 4:47 pm

Braggins wrote:Why did realgm start sending me a million email notifications everyday?

Change your settings
-> Click on the Notifications link (top right)
-> Click on settings
-> uncheck boxes if you don't want notification e-mails.

Post #625 » by **fatlever** » Tue Mar 24, 2015 4:52 pm

LamarMatic7 wrote:I'm wondering how much does the average American know about the situation in Ukraine and how much are you exposed to it? Seemingly the Charlie Hebdo and ISIS storylines are more prevalent in your media coverage.

Asking this since I would be lying if I said that I'm not afraid about the threat Russia could be against Latvia.

Is this something that is being discussed in Latvia - the possibility of a Russian takeover? What would be the motivation from Russia's side? With the Ukraine it gave them a valuable port as well as oil, right? Also, since Latvia is much closely aligned with the Euro powers (right?), I assume an invasion would get a bigger negative reaction from the surrounding Euro nations.

Also, do you think there is a possibility of nations boycotting the 2018 World Cup if things don't improve with Russia? Can you imagine if Germany, Spain, Netherlands, England, Portugal, Italy, Belgium and the USA all told Russia they were boycotting the World Cup, If....

BlackOutBuzz · Post #626 » by **BlackOutBuzz** » Wed Mar 25, 2015 2:40 pm

@Hornets
Check out the #NBAGlobalGames China 2015 Preview: Hornets vs. Clippers
http://t.co/XZQASJDM08 http://t.co/oS57kz3jhV

Post #627 » by **yosemiteben** » Wed Mar 25, 2015 4:19 pm

[tweet]https://twitter.com/rick_bonnell/status/580734579939639297[/tweet]

Might have to hit up an open practice this summer.

Liver_Pooty · Post #628 » by **Liver_Pooty** » Wed Mar 25, 2015 4:32 pm

Should've kept it in Asheville. Oh well.

LamarMatic7 · Post #629 » by **LamarMatic7** » Wed Mar 25, 2015 11:10 pm

fatlever wrote:
LamarMatic7 wrote:I'm wondering how much does the average American know about the situation in Ukraine and how much are you exposed to it? Seemingly the Charlie Hebdo and ISIS storylines are more prevalent in your media coverage.

Asking this since I would be lying if I said that I'm not afraid about the threat Russia could be against Latvia.

Is this something that is being discussed in Latvia - the possibility of a Russian takeover? What would be the motivation from Russia's side? With the Ukraine it gave them a valuable port as well as oil, right? Also, since Latvia is much closely aligned with the Euro powers (right?), I assume an invasion would get a bigger negative reaction from the surrounding Euro nations.

Also, do you think there is a possibility of nations boycotting the 2018 World Cup if things don't improve with Russia? Can you imagine if Germany, Spain, Netherlands, England, Portugal, Italy, Belgium and the USA all told Russia they were boycotting the World Cup, If....

Even if the people involved in the conversation look at it as if it was something otherworldly, the thought of it being a threat is definitely in the air. The governments of our two Baltic neighbours, Estonia and Lithuania, have taken notice. Per example, Lithuania just reintroduced compulsory military service. Estonia already had it as obligatory. Ours unfortunately is pretty clueless and tends to avoid any controversy.

Well, a huge variable in this scenario would be Putin and the madman he is. I just don't feel like we can predict anything he might do. Yes, obviously we're a part of the European Union (unlike Ukraine) and them attacking any of the Baltic countries would start something we'd probably end up calling World War Three. Ukraine was almost easy pickings for Russia since Western powers have no real reason to interfere, no matter how brutal and horrible Russia's annexation of parts of Ukraine might be.

So, yeah, they pretty much took everything they could to build an even bigger empire, while not sparking a reaction from the West. They seemingly could advance even further within Ukraine but seem satisfied not to do so.

The part that kills me, beside Putin being unpredictable, is that we've utterly failed to integrate the Russian community in Latvia. A huge part of them are victims of the same Russian propaganda that people within Russian believe in. The majority of them, people of Russian descent living in Latvia, have faith in Putin and truly believe that you, the USA, are somehow responsible for all of this. Man, I'm telling you... It's not a comfortable feeling to know that these people are my neighbours, that I share the same public transport with them, etc.

9th of May is what they call Victory Day when they celebrate the defeat of the Third Reich. It's not uncommon to receive threats or get beat up just for being Latvian in my part of Riga. I really don't like the idea of that date this year. They have enough numbers to start something really stupid in certain cities. Like I said, they are a lost cause and might get in their heads that a huge demonstration and rioting on their part would receive support from Russia.

it's obviously a 0.1% chance that anything will happen but it's not exactly comfortable to live in the society that Latvia has.

catch20two · Post #630 » by **catch20two** » Thu Mar 26, 2015 3:35 am

After Floyd Mayweather nitpick Pacquaio on May 2nd who should be the next best contender for his September career finale?

Braggins · Post #631 » by **Braggins** » Thu Mar 26, 2015 3:47 am

catch20two wrote:After Floyd Mayweather nitpick Pacquaio on May 2nd who should be the next best contender for his September career finale?

Gennady Golovkin

catch20two · Post #632 » by **catch20two** » Thu Mar 26, 2015 3:51 am

Braggins wrote:
catch20two wrote:After Floyd Mayweather nitpick Pacquaio on May 2nd who should be the next best contender for his September career finale?

Gennady Golovkin

Lol. You can't be serious. Triple G hasn't fought not one notable fighter yet that I can recall.

Braggins · Post #633 » by **Braggins** » Thu Mar 26, 2015 4:00 am

For real though, if the Mayweather/Pacquaio fight is competitive they should just do a trilogy and both retire. There is no point for either of them fighting anyone else. There aren't any young challengers who would be worthy and all the supposed up and comers have been exposed already. He's already beaten all the old guys. If he dominates Pacquiao then he should just wait a couple years for a legit young challenger to emerge and give him a shot.

I'm not sure that this is going to be an easy fight for Floyd. I think he should be the favorite because Manny seems to have declined much more than Floyd has, which makes sense considering all the crazy battles Pacquiao has been through, but he still shouldn't be an easy opponent. Cotto gave Floyd a decent challenge and Manny still has more speed and power than Cotto. I didn't see Manny's last fight against Bradley, so maybe he has declined even more than I realize, but idk. I think if they would have fought 8-10 yeras ago it would be even odds or Manny would be a slight favorite. It still pisses me off that Floyd wouldn't fight Manny when they were both in their prime.

Braggins · Post #634 » by **Braggins** » Thu Mar 26, 2015 4:05 am

catch20two wrote:
Braggins wrote:
catch20two wrote:After Floyd Mayweather nitpick Pacquaio on May 2nd who should be the next best contender for his September career finale?

Gennady Golovkin

Lol. You can't be serious. Triple G hasn't fought not one notable fighter yet that I can recall.

I wasn't serious. GGG is simply too big for Floyd and that fight would never happen in a million years. Floyd is the better boxer and GGG will never reach Floyd's level in his career, but GGG is too big and powerful for an old Floyd. He should be because he is a legit middleweight in his physical prime and Floyd was originally fighting at 135 when he made his name. It isn't even a fight that I think should happen or that Floyd should consider taking. I only brought his name up because I would love to see Floyd getting knocked out, even if it wasn't quite a fair fight.

catch20two · Post #635 » by **catch20two** » Thu Mar 26, 2015 4:07 am

The way I see it is that the only way to possibly beat Floyd is to rough him up by fighting a little dirty to get all the people that want to see Floyd lose into it like Cotto, Canelo, and Maidana tried but that ain't Pacquaio's style and that's why Floyd will pick him apart like he did Marquez. Pacquaio will not be able to outpoint Floyd or exchange with him in the middle of the ring without getting counterpunched to bloody death.

Braggins · Post #636 » by **Braggins** » Thu Mar 26, 2015 4:15 am

catch20two wrote:The way I see it is that the only way to possibly beat Floyd is to rough him up by fighting a little dirty to get all the people that want to see Floyd lose into it like Cotto, Canelo, and Maidana tried but that ain't Pacquaio's style and that's why Floyd will pick him apart like he did Marquez. Pacquaio will not be able to outpoint Floyd or exchange with him in the middle of the ring without getting counterpunched to bloody death.

Pacquaio is a lot faster and more powerful than JMM, or at least he was. Pacquaio is just as fast as Floyd and has more power. Pacquaio actually has the speed and agility to pressure Floyd and the power to hurt him. That is why the fight is only happening now that Manny has declined. Everyone Floyd has been fighting over the last 10 or so years has either been too old, too slow, too small, or all three, and everyone except JMM has been less skilled than Floyd (to Floyd's credit, its not his fault he has more skill than basically everyone). Manny doesn't seem to have the same pop and speed in his punches so I think that Floyds superior skill will probably prevail. If Manny has something left in the tank and can muster up some of his old energy and intensity he can compete with Floyd or even beat him imo. I'm certainly not counting on that happening though.

Braggins · Post #637 » by **Braggins** » Thu Mar 26, 2015 4:25 am

Manny shouldn't try to exchange with Floyd in the center of the ring. Floyd will just use his footwork to evade and be in position to counter. Floyd won't want any part of exchanging with Manny in the middle of the ring either, but if Manny tries to make that happen he will be putting himself in a bad position more times than not. He should try to pressure Floyd with his movement and force him close to the ropes or into the corner, then use his comparable agility and quickness to keep Floyd from being able to dance out of the situation. All these slow bruisers Floyd has been fighting don't have the agility or footwork to adequately cut off the ring against Floyd. Cotto was able to make things sort of interesting and he was just following Floyd around. I think Manny had all the tools to potentially beat Floyd, but he just doesn't seem like the same Manny to me anymore. I just hope its a good fight.

catch20two · Post #638 » by **catch20two** » Thu Mar 26, 2015 4:28 am

Braggins wrote:
catch20two wrote:The way I see it is that the only way to possibly beat Floyd is to rough him up by fighting a little dirty to get all the people that want to see Floyd lose into it like Cotto, Canelo, and Maidana tried but that ain't Pacquaio's style and that's why Floyd will pick him apart like he did Marquez. Pacquaio will not be able to outpoint Floyd or exchange with him in the middle of the ring without getting counterpunched to bloody death.

Pacquaio is a lot faster and more powerful than JMM, or at least he was. Pacquaio is just as fast as Floyd and has more power. Pacquaio actually has the speed and agility to pressure Floyd and the power to hurt him. That is why the fight is only happening now that Manny has declined. Everyone Floyd has been fighting over the last 10 or so years has either been too old, too slow, too small, or all three, and everyone except JMM has been less skilled than Floyd (to Floyd's credit, its not his fault he has more skill than basically everyone). Manny doesn't seem to have the same pop and speed in his punches so I think that Floyds superior skill will probably prevail. If Manny has something left in the tank and can muster up some of his old energy and intensity he can compete with Floyd or even beat him imo. I'm certainly not counting on that happening though.

This boxer with the rare combination of speed, youth, and skill to compete against Floyd is a figment of your imagination. If Floyd fought Keith Thurman people would say that Thurman wasn't ready for the primetime. If Floyd fought ultra quick Amir Khan people would say that Khan's punches are like pillow fist. If Floyd fought somebody with a lot of power to knock him out they will say that that said fighter is too slow. I've heard all of the excuses. Pacquaio is younger than Floyd so the age thing is just that, a excuse.

catch20two · Post #639 » by **catch20two** » Thu Mar 26, 2015 4:32 am

Braggins wrote:Manny shouldn't try to exchange with Floyd in the center of the ring. Floyd will just use his footwork to evade and be in position to counter. Floyd won't want any part of exchanging with Manny in the middle of the ring either, but if Manny tries to make that happen he will be putting himself in a bad position more times than not. He should try to pressure Floyd with his movement and force him close to the ropes or into the corner, then use his comparable agility and quickness to keep Floyd from being able to dance out of the situation. All these slow bruisers Floyd has been fighting don't have the agility or footwork to adequately cut off the ring against Floyd. Cotto was able to make things sort of interesting and he was just following Floyd around. I think Manny had all the tools to potentially beat Floyd, but he just doesn't seem like the same Manny to me anymore. I just hope its a good fight.

That's what I'm saying tho. Manny's best strength of outpointing a boxer in the middle of the ring with his constant side to side bounce followed by electric flurries is Floyd's best strength to counter. Which is why Floyd walked thru a similar fighter in Marquez and will do the same to Pacquaio. He about to give yall what yall been asking for on May 2nd. Lol

catch20two · Post #640 » by **catch20two** » Thu Mar 26, 2015 4:37 am

People say that Floyd hasn't fought anybody but the people that they think can beat Floyd has fought the same competition or less but they got a bunch of L's on their record. Lol. Who has Pacquaio fought that Floyd hasn't? Floyd has fought higher competition than anybody currently active in the sport of boxing. At some point people need to just give him his kudos.