UngsungBlog: A (Fantasy) Sports Blog

(This blog entry needs to be posted now, for I don’t know when I’ll have a chance to post it on Wednesday. I’ll probably be out late, or in a serious food coma, or a combination of both. Lunch time BBQ + dinner time BBQ + snacking on leftovers in between = certain death!

Gluttony on holidays FTMFW! What can I say? I’m “heroically portly” [thanks Hank].)

Happy Fourth of July!

Accuweather.com reports that the RealFeel temperature will be 95F tomorrow in Agoura Hills, and a cool 100F in Monterey Park. It’s a good thing I won’t be doing any of the actual cooking tomorrow. Although…maybe I could sweat off a few pounds before each meal.

(Time for some NBA talk, with the official start of free agency right around the corner!)

- Rashard Lewis will leave Seattle, after agreeing to a 5-year deal worth somewhere between $75 million and $85 million. Fifteen million a year for Rashard Lewis? Not to mention, signing Lewis probably costs Orlando the services of Darko Milicic. Yeah, Lewis a nice player–you can’t teach 6′10″, right?–with a nice shooting stroke, but does a Jameer Nelson-Rashard Lewis-Dwight Howard core get Orlando close to championship contention? I’d say no. I can’t see Lewis or Turkoglu playing SG (replacing Grant Hill, who will probably go to Detroit), and the Magic have a woefully thin bench. Lewis should, however, cause teams to double team Howard less, and Howard’s gotta be happy with that.

One other concern: will Orlando be willing to extend both Howard and Nelson? Of course Howard will get a max extension. But will they be able to extend Nelson, and have enough cap space to get veteran help for the Nelson-Lewis-Howard trio? Also, is Orlando really ready to give up on Darko after one year and a lost draft pick?

Clearly, Orlando is overpaying for Rashard Lewis, and I’m not sure how happy Orlando will be with their investment.

- An earlier report stated that Chauncey Billups and the Detroit Pistons had agreed to a 5-year deal worth $60 million, but Billups’ agent called the report a “vicious rumor.”

(Tangent: Wow! I didn’t know that “invalid” was a synonym for “vicious.” There goes my rant asking about how vicious a $60 million contract signing could possibly be!)

That being said, Detroit has to get this deal done. Personally, I think $12 million a year is too excessive for the guy–he’s still living off his performance in the 2004 Finals, after all. However, the Pistons absolutely need Billups, if they plan on contending for a title next year.

As an aside, I don’t see how Grant Hill helps this team that much. He’s not going to crack the starting rotation, unless Rip Hamilton leaves the team, and I’m not sure I’d pay the mid-level exception for a sixth man with injury risks.

- Finally, Kobe Bryant is getting help, as the Lakers made a huge free agent signing!

(Ok, ok, Luke Walton isn’t huge at all :P)

Has Kobe bought a house in another major city yet?

by Peter
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So I got a nice, big, bubble mailer yesterday. It was a package shipped from Buy.com.

Nothing special about a bubble mailer, right? You’re right. Unless that bubble mailer arrived to me unsealed.

Yes, somehow, some moron at Buy.com forgot to seal the envelope, which contained a pair of software titles. The only thing holding the bubble mailer together was a piece of USPS “This parcel arrived damaged and we’re not responsible for any damage to the packet” tape.

Well done, Buy.com. You have cemented your spot on my list.

- We have a new addition to my list! Congrats, Chase!

(Background: I like to my off my credit cards as soon as possible. Sometimes, I’ll make the payment the same day that the online statement is released. I’d rather pay a credit card really early than risk missing the due date and incurring a late fee.

When paying off a Chase card online, you have four options: paying the statement balance, paying the minimum payment, paying the current balance [statement balance + any charges made after the statement closed], and paying some other amount.)

Yesterday, I logged into my Chase account to pay my Chase Freedom Visa card. I went over the online statement, and noticed a finance charge!

(It was a $1 charge, but still!)

I quickly glanced over the statement, and noticed that the amount I paid was exactly the same amount as the statement balance of the previous statement, not the one that was due. I then clicked on “Pay Card,” and noted that the listed statement balance was equal to last month’s statement balance!

I called Chase to report this site error, and was referred to Chase’s Internet Services department (or something like that). All they told me was that I should wait 3-4 business days after the statement is due before paying my statement. Fantastic…instead of fixing their problem, I have to inconvenience myself by waiting to pay off the credit card each month on their terms.

I know, I know…what a weak rant!

- I love Rite Aid. Single Check Rebates + coupons FTW! Having two addresses to file SCRs? Even better! I went there with my sister, and we picked up a whole bunch of cheap stuff. I got two tubes of Crest toothpaste for MMAR (Make Money After Rebate), two bottles of hair gel @ BOGO (buy one, get one free), and two bottles of Pantene for a buck a bottle.

(Tangent: I have no problem using “women’s” shampoo. Aside from the smell, as long as it does a good job, I don’t care. And Pantene’s a good shampoo, is it not?)

Ice cream was also $1.99 a box, so I couldn’t refuse. I got some mint chocolate chip, and a box of cones to go with it. My sister got some FAR deodorant, a bottle of some shampoo, and a bottle of some conditioner. She couldn’t pass up ice cream either

All that junk for $20 and change, after the rebates. Not bad!

Excuse me while I go take a shower…

by Peter
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