Potter Goes Off...

Okay I need to figure out what I am doing this evening. Its a Tuesday night here in Mount Pleasant which summers past would mean an automatic trip to O'kellys for the evening where many adult beverages would be consumed and then the potential for a dance off at the wayside. Speaking of the Wayside, I have been on the fence about this for a while, but upon consulting with friends I have come to the realization that UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCE should I allowed to enter that place unless a) it is a tuesday night (21+ only) or b) it is for Oldies. The wayside is nuthing more than a dark dirty place where you have a better chance of catching an STD than you would swimming in Magic Johnson's blood.

Anyways, so tonight would normally be a O'kellys night. I mean $1 beers theres NBA playoff basketball, how can you go wrong? As much as I would love to just go out and get sha-wasted and stumble home, that is not what I need right now. I need something with more substance.

I need a girlfriend, and those out there that know me will agree. But the problem with this is you cant just go up to Wal-Mart and find one you like and take her home (I wish it was that easy). The problem is that I have no confidence in asking a girl out. I may invite her to come to a party I may invite her to the bar, but to ask a girl "Hey I was wondering if you would want to grab dinner or a movie sometime" is like kryptonite.

Now am I afraid that someone may read this, no I want people to read this. This is probably the best way that anyone can truly get a insight into who I am. I act like I have not a care in the world, I will talk to you like I have know you for years, I will make fun of you, tease you, make fun of myself , even embarass myself but that is all my act. I dont want people to know that I'm lonely, that I can be an emotional wreck at times. Just hide it all behind a smile.

Anyways back to tonight... Do I know what I want to do yes, I would love to just go home from work eat a quick dinner and then just hang out with someone super special, it could be doing something... anything.. I'm just getting tired of always faking it

The Magic Orb Compells you

I will spend the rest of this afternoon making every decision based on "The Mystical Orb". The Mystical Orb is basically a Magic 8-Ball. The box it comes is claims "Something cannot be explained! Have you got any question in your mind? Do you have any doubt in your life?" "Your answer is here!!" The are 20 different responses ranging from "Absolutely", "Focus and Ask Again", to a simple "No"

I will pose a question that can be answered then I will shake the Orb for 10seconds and then based on the answer I will react...

• Should I check facebook? "Absolutely" I log into facebook to see roughly 10 statuses about the Supreme Court decision in California about Proposition 8. Now I'll be honest, I do not care one bit about this. I wouldnt say I am a extremely religious person but I do believe in God, and I do read the Bible. According to the Bible any type of homosexual behavior is wrong. Now I am far from perfect and as the Bible also said " Let he who is without sin cast the first stone" John 8:7, so therefor I do not judge a person based on their choices in life. However in the society that we live in we are a government for the people, by the people and of the people. Clearly the voice of the people has been heard in the decision.
• Should I check facebook again? "Focus and Ask Again" I wait another 15 seconds before I ask again.. "Indications say Yes" I press refresh and I see that my good friend and almost bowling teammate (screw Riverwood) has posted a link that says that the Dave Matthews Band is allowing fans to listen to their new album before it is released. I personally am not a huge fan of DMB. I have never been to a concert I do not own a single album (however I do have multiple songs in my iTunes Library). I respect him for his talent but I have been able to understand what makes him so great.
• Guitar Hero? "So It Shall Be" We have Guitar Hero Arcade here where I work. It is basically Guitar Hero III but with a few different songs. I played the song "Cliffs of Dover" and scored just over 146,000. Not too shabby, the High Score (also from me) is just over 154,000. This is on hard, as I am sure I will fail miserably if I attempt to play Expert.

It is now almost 4pm.. I have just about 3 more hours here at work.. this blog is beginning to look like it may be quite long when we are finished. I plug my iPod Touch into my iHome I have here in my office and listen to "Fantasy Focus: Baseball" its part of my daily routine.

• Check my Fantasy Team? "Indications Say Yes" I am part of a 10 team keeper league. Currently my team is in dead-last place. Upon looking at my team I notice that I have a trade offer on the table from team "pumpsmeup" I counter his trade with a Aaron Hill & Geovany Soto for Zach Greinke. I am hoping he will take this as that would sure up my pitching staff. I also am going to set my line-up for this evening (knowing I'll probably check it again before the 7:05 games start)

My boss calls I have to do some paperwork :( boo that, as much as I would like to ask the orb if I should I cant really let it decided this. ..

Anecdotes

There once was a boy from mass
who's balls were made out of brass
One stomy night they clinked together...
And Lightning came out of his ass!

Ted Williams (Baseball player Boston Red Sox's) was an avid fisherman and was very knowledgable on the subject. He once told a Boston sportswriter that there was noone who knew more about fishing than he did. The writer replied, "Sure there is. God, who made the fish." "Yeah, all right," conceded Williams. "But you had to go pretty far back."

Former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was often bored by the tedious small talk that was required of him at social functions. He often felt as if those with whom he conversed were seldom paying attention to what was said. To prove his point, sometimes Roosevelt would begin a conversation by saying, "I murdered my grandmother this morning." Often these words were met with polite approval. On one occasion, however, an attentive listener gave the witty reply, "I'm sure she had it coming to her."

Parenting My Ass

America is suffering.. Millions of kids are obese and there is very little done to fix the situation. Imagination, and creativity have been replaced by Video Games, Movies and Televison.

The first to blame are the parents. Many are too preoccupied with their own self to even consider the damage that is being done to their children. Familys as a whole have become extinct, and have been replaced by artificial babysitters (TV, CPU's ..etc) The need for money, especially in this economic culture, have forced both parents to work so that they can afford the bigger car, the bigger home, the vacation spot. Too many parents are living in a mind frame of "I want" instead of "I need" and when that is done the children are those that suffer. Many parents will say I'm doing this for my children, bullsh*t!! They are doing this because they believe that their children will think they are "cooler" than lil bobby's parents or suzies's parent. But when you leave your children unnattended and unsupervised is that really good parenting??

Baseball

America's Pastime...

Now it is $1500 seats, $7 beers and 100's of players that have cheated or are still cheating

First it was McGuire and Sosa, then Canseco, Palmeiro and Clemens. Now its A-rod and Manny.

I will be the first to admit that I hate A-rod with a passion that is saved for a very select few. However I have always been a huge Manny fan, and I still don't want to believe that he has or was using steroids. I mean look at him, you wouldn't consider him a physical specimen, and more importantly someone who routinely took plays off, or lets just say was "manny being manny" isnt the type of player that you would expect to be using.

But the more and more I watch the game and I see these players I cant help but argue that MLB still needs to do more. They need to release the list of everyone that tested postive (more importantly the "reporter" that leaked A-rod's name clearly had to of seen more than just A-rod on the list... wheres your journalistic integrity) I dont care if you punish them or not (it is interesting that A-rod sat out 30 games due to this mysterious hip injury) but by putting everyones name out there the fans can move past all of this.

The State Of the Pistons

What will the Pistons do this off-season?

The decisions Joe Dumars makes will significantly change the way many fans look at this team.

Before we make any predictions lets look at the facts.

- Allen Iverson, Rasheed Wallace, Walter Herrmann and Antonio McDyess are all Free Agents. The only possible one I see returning is McDyess.

- Rip just signed an $35 million dollar extension through the 2012-2013 season. It's clear he needs a stable offense run by a stable point guard to be effective.

- Tayshaun has 21.8 million remaining of his contract which expires at the end of the 2010-2011 season. Had a down season this year, mainly due to injuries and playing in the olympics last summer. In order for the Pistons to return to their form Prince has to be able to defend the likes of Caron Butler, Danny Granger and Andre Iguodala as well as Superstars Paul Pierce and LeBron James. He also has to become a go to option on the offensive end.

- Stuckey grew alot this season as a player, but still has a long way to go if he is the appointed heir to Billups. Still a score first PG (like most in the league) Stuckey still needs to understand how to run and offense and how to get others involved. His contract goes through the 2010-11 season as well but I think the Pistons may try to lock him up to a longer extension this summer. He is a key peice in the future of this organization and knowing he will be here for years will help the Pistons in their pursuit of Free Agents

- Affalo and Maxiell: their play was up and down this season as both have alot to learn still. Both have proven to be quality defenders but neither are starters in this league. Affalo is going nowhere, Maxiell on the other had could be involved in possible trades (more on this later)

- Amir he was givin his chance to start the season and he wasnt able to keep it. He continues to make the same mistakes -- silly fouls, mental lapses -- and he still isn't strong enough to hold his position most nights on the block. Under Contract for next season. Could also be involved in any trades made this season

-Kwame Brown and Will Bynum: Both showed they can be quality role players. Neither are starters, and neither are leaving Detroit

- Walter Sharpe a low risk chance that didnt pan out. Could be in Fort Wayne next season, but unless major steps are shown in the summer, no reason he should have a roster spot.


So what is Joe Dumar's options this summer?


The Pistons expect to have somewhere in the neighborhood of $20 million of salary cap space July 1. They could use that on free agents as well as a way to facilitate trades. Dumars may chose to use Prince and Amir Johnson, as well as any of his four draft picks (one first round, three second-rounders), in trade packages.

The Pistons have to get better in the frontcourt, and must establish a new identity.


They need someone who will attrack a double team in the post. They need a proven 3-pt shooter and they need to get better defensively


Now here are my ideas.

FREE AGENTS

Paul Milsap - Everyone wants Boozer, but his health is in question. Utah does have the option to match and beat any offers for Milsap. Milsap and Maxiell are basically the same player. Both are high energy players who are at there best when playing 20-30 minutes a game. Now detroit can not afford to over pay for him but he would be a quailty piece'

Antonio McDyess - A proven leader on and off the court. Should do the right thing for himself and go to a team that is poised for a championship run. But if Bosh comes to Detroit, McDyess would have to think twice about not returning. His experience is only going to help the younger players.

Ben Gordon - basically a younger more explosive version of RIP. If we were to sign him it would signal the end of RIP here in Detroit (I have plans for this). But I dont know if the Pistons would be willing to pay as much as Gordon's camp is going to be asking for.

POSSIBLE TRADES

Chris Bosh - Bosh becomes a Free Agent after next season. Toronto is not going to risk losing Bosh and getting nothing in return. Detroit ships Amir (again an expiring contract) and Tayshaun (Toronto wants a quality player in return and needs a SF). Instant post presence that has been missing. His ability to play in the post as well as hit the 10-14 ft jumpers would be perfect for a pick and roll offense (much like what they did with McDyess this year)

JJ Redick - everyone will say I am crazy but if the Pistons sign Ben Gordon this makes more sense than you would think. The Pistons did not had a real 3-pt shooter this season and Billups was the only true shooter (Sheed would tell you different) even the last couple of years (i'll give Hunter some props). If the Pistons sign Gordon, you have to get rid of RIP. What is the Orlando Magics biggest need... its a SG. So the Pistons send Hamilton to Orlando for Redick, Foyle and Battie. Then the Piston release both Foyle and Battie. Not only does Detroit get rid of another big contract but as JJ has shown in the Boston series, he is capable of playing at the level and playing well.

BOTH OF THE TRADES WOULD WORK .. ESPN NBA TRADE MACHINE

Then if you were to look at the potential line up/ roster for next year you would have

PG- Stuckey

SG- Gordon

SF- Affalo

PF- Milsap

C- Bosh

BN- Maxiell

BN- McDyess

BN- Brown

BN- Bynum

BN- Redick
BN -

BN -

Yes, Affalo would be a lil undersized at SF but at this moment would be our only option. He is a very good defender. But we still have the draft so perhaps we draft someone like James Johnson (Wake) Terrance Williams (Louisville) Sam Young (Pitt) or Danny Green (UNC) to fill the void.

Again these are just my thoughts.

R-P (you know who I be)

Where would Adam be if it wasnt for Eve

And so it begins...

What is life but a series of events that ultimately define who you are.

But who are you?

Those that have had the pleasure to know me, could say I am "crazy" or "out-there" or simply "Just Potta" but is that who I am, or how I am viewed by those around.

Very few know the real me, thats because I am afraid to let down my guard, and let my true emotions show because everytime I seem to do that I get trampled on.

I'm a guy who just wants to be everyones friend, but cross me and you will feel the wrath like you have never experienced. And yes I want to be in love, I want to (someday) have a family and live happily every after. But sometimes that seems as about as likely as being struck by lightning while golfing at the north pole.

Those few that have had the opportunity to see the whole me, no sooner than seeing it, fled to the nearest exit, or in some cases the nearest hockey player (i just had to, needed a laugh).

Love is the key in all of it, with out love life is EMPTY, it is a black hole that swallows up all the light around. Its a fact that one person can ruin a party, one death can bring sadness and heartache to hundreds, but what does a smile bring, it brings hope, it brings laughs, it brings tears of joy.

So find that smile out there that is for you. theres an old sayin "dont frown because you never know whos fallin in love with your smile" Let me tell you thats about as true as anything in life.

Just find that smile :)

R-P (u know who I be)