Best Ever NBA Players

Youngsters these days talk about the greatest ever NBA players, and list far more current players - hardly any back before Kareem and Wit. No Jerry West, John Havlicek, Bob Cousy, Oscar Robertson. 

Not sure if the Basketball Reference Value over Replacement Player measurement can be trusted. Luka is already rated above Moses Malone, Chris Mullin, and Robert Parish. Lebron has 50% more value than MJ. I don't understand - is it simply a longevity thing?

I will admit that Lebron is an all time top ten player, and there are other current players who may also belong in the top 20. But just scanning the list of hall of farmers, here's my top 20 all time.

Michael Jordan

Bill Russell

Kobe Bryant

Kareem Abdul Jabbar

Larry Bird

Magic Johnson

Wilt Chamberlain

Lebron James

Tim Duncan

Oscar Robertson

Shaquille O'Neal

Jerry West

Julius Erving

Charles Barkley

John Havlicek

Hakeem Olajuwon

Steph Curry

Elgin Baylor

Rick Barry 

Karl Malone

Honorable mention: George Mikan, Bob Cousy, Bill Bradley, Kevin Garnett, Pete Maravich, Dirk Nowitzki

For all the youngsters saying Steph Curry and Barkley are on the same level as Larry Bird, it simply ain't so. That MJ went through so many years of losing - he never went out and recruited himself a team of all stars so he could win a title. Did Steph really change the game any more so than Maravich?

For those listing current players in their top 10 all time / best ever, ahead of those hall of famers that I've listed - the HOF is full of other players just as good, if not better. How soon they forget Moses, Willis Reed, Carmelo, Dwight Howard, Vince Carter, Dwyane Wade, Manu Ginobili, Lou Hudson, Walt Bellamy, Chris Bosh, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Jason Kidd, Dominique.

Best ever - by sneaker sales...

850M Jordan

400M Shaq

130M Kobe

120M Lebron

080M Durant 

Much To Do About Murals

The gift of being an exceptional content creator is to be able to come up with the arcane tidbit that no one else is talking about, the new and fresh angle that no one has thought of yet - not just saying the exact same thing that 50 other people have already said. Lang does this every day. It’s my challenge. Yesterday everyone was posting tributes to Ted Turner, including me. I tried to put my own personal touch on my tribute, offering the obscure tidbits that I remembered.

Seems like everyone at WSB just has to line up and take Bellwood Coffee to task, kind of like that scene in the movie Airplane!. I’m finally figuring out why. They need content to talk and write about, and the juicier the better. They’re too busy to analyze, to step back and provide a deep response. They don't realize they're saying the same thing everyone else has already said. They’re just concerned with clicks. Don’t stand in their way. 

This week I’ve looked at how many impressions some of these so-called content creators are getting, and it really ain’t much - not too much more than I get, which is embarrassing. 

Radio dude says if a Chipper mural was painted over, there’d be a huge protest, but when I point out that an Aaron mural in Buckhead was replaced with an ad for mayonnaise, there was hardly any outrage. Radio guy failed to make the connection, and I didn’t feel the need to spoon feed him. I was left feeling dirty just for getting sucked into the “conversation”. 

But really Grant Park is different from Buckhead, and Jovita is different than Hank. The Jovita mural was Grant Park’s mural, even if she lived in suburban Dunwoody. People identified with Jovita because of the mural - she was their girl, their icon. But a huge percentage of other Atlantans had no idea that Jovita was so beloved. Nothing wrong with that. Just different worlds. 

Similarly, some were offended when the decades old Hank Aaron tribute wall in the parking lot that used to be Atlanta Stadium was recently torn down to make way for the new Georgia State baseball stadium - even though a brand new, much nicer Aaron memorial would be built in it’s place. Some would rather keep the old run down parking lot, progress be damned. 

The Ponce mural was painted over. No outcry. Same with the Buckhead mural. Different icons. Different neighborhoods. Different outcomes. Jovita was WSBs. I just wish WSB would stop rehashing the story.

Murals mean so much to some people. To others just an afterthought. After a week of murals being in the spotlight, I happened to notice that in Keisha Lance Bottoms political ad, three or four murals are featured. All from Atlanta, if I’m not mistaken. She’s running for governor. Perhaps she should show murals from other places as well. 

Sounds like the Knicks are said to be one of the mightiest teams in the East, and the underdog Hawks took them to 6 games without much effort. 

I listened to 680’s interview with longtime Hawks executive Steve Koonin, who first met Ted as a Coke advertising associate. The 68 year old Koonin sounds like an okay guy, likening himself to Senator Blutarsky from Animal House. Koonin hinted that the Hawks would be working to sign their head coach to a long term contract. 

Ernie Johnson Jr also gave tribute to Turner, and introduced a short video that included quotes from Andrew Young, Dale Murphy, Jimmy Carter, and others.

R.I.P. Ted Turner

Former Braves and Hawks owner Ted Turner passed away today. He was 87.

After expanding his father's billboard business, Turner bought a small TV station in Atlanta. Needing programming, Ted bought the Braves and later the Hawks, and hosted professional wrestling matches in his studios in the old mansion on Techwood Drive, just down from Alexander Coliseum. 

Turner did whatever possible to promote attendance and viewership. He completed against announcers Pete Van Wieren and Skip Carey in a pregame ostrich race.

Today 680 had great interviews with two former executives from Ted's early days, Stan Kasten and Steve Koonin.

Turner famously challenged Phillies relief pitcher Tug McGraw to see who could roll a baseball from the base to home using only their nose. McGraw quickly gave up but Ted, in full uniform, gave it his all. Turner finished, with a bloody nose to show for his efforts. 

After a nine game losing streak, Ted gave his manager time off - and took over managerial duties himself. After losing in Pittsburgh, commission Bowie Kuhn told Ted that owners couldn't also manage. 

After this particular road jersey became available for purchase in 2019, I ordered a replica TURNER 27 jersey. I'll be sure to wear it the the Braves game next week in tribute.

In 1980 Turner founded CNN, the first 24 hour news channel. CNN 's 11 pm sports show became must see TV, hosted by luminaries Dan Patrick, Van Earl Wright, Fred Hickman, Nick Charles, and Vince Cellini. The network moved its headquarters downtown to the Omni International building (later renamed CNN Center). Late one night I was walking though the building, perhaps after a Hawks game in the adjacent Omni arena. I looked across at another walkway and saw Turner, alone, walking back to his living quarters in the building. A few years later I was Turner's grandson's basketball coach, though Ted never attended a game.

Turner was a fixture on the sidelines of Hawks games, often sitting next to GM Mike Gearon, the father of Hannah Storm, then a student at the Lovett School. Gearon always wore the exact same thing: navy blazer, white dress shirt, no tie, kaiki slacks, no socks, and expensive loafers. Gearon refused to accept a salary from the team, instead working for a salary of one dollar per year.

Turner would often wear a Hawks or Braves tie, like in the top photo. It was Ted who got me interested in sports themed ties. Below he posted with Hawks forward Tom McMillen, who later served as a US Representative from the state of Maryland.

Ted, then wife Jane Fonda, and Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter were fixtures in the president's box at World Series games.

Below: Turner (right) celebrates with GM John Schuerholz (left) and Stan Kasten (middle).

Turner was active in environmental causes, and almost singlehandedly rescued the American buffalo from extinction. In later years Ted became one of the largest private landowners in the US. His efforts to lobby the United Nations for world popular reduction became the predecessor to the current climate change and new world order movements.

For many years I've thought a great Ted Turner tribute patch would be to take Ted's face from his Sports Illustrated America's Cup cover and use as the patch - as it bears a remarkable resemblance to the Braves old laughing Indian sleeve patch from the 1960's.

I asked Perplexity A I to make up this patch, but it refuses to have anything to do with the laughing Indian. Not exactly what I was looking for, but somewhat close.

Many suggest the Braves change the new City Connect sleeve patch from TBS to TED. Not a bad idea. Or just add a second TED patch.

Some may scoff, but in many ways Ted Turner is very much like an earlier Southern version of Donald Trump - an womanizing entrepreneur who loved his city and country. Certainly not a saint by any measure, yet still a force for good. 

The Old Monk Joke

Old joke: a young monk joined a monastery where they could only say two words a year. The rest of the time they had a vow of silence. After a year the monk was called in for his annual review, where he could say his two words. His superior praised him for his good works around the monastery. What are your two words, he asked. The young monk replied "Food bad". His superior said that he understood, the they weren't operating a fancy restaurant.

At the end of his second year the monk was again called in. Same routine. What are your two words? "Bed hard". His superior understood, since they weren't running a fancy hotel.

At the end of his third year the monk was called in again. Despite his good works, his two words were "I quit". His superior replied "Well, it's understandable. All you've done since you got here is complain!". 

Braves sweep the Rockies. Their fastest start in the modern era, since the 1800's - 15 games over .500. All without Strider, Smith Shauber, Schwellenbach, and Murphy.

Sunday it was third string catcher Jonah Heim got the big hit. Matt Olson is playing better than ever - hitting his 299th home run. Riley may be coming out of his slump. Drake Baldwin is building on his ROY reason. Chris Sale is having another great season. Spencer Strider struggled in his first start back from injury, and Braves Twitter was ready to release him. Strider couldn't have been expected to be at midseason form - especially in hitter friendly Coors Field. Let's give him a few starts to return to form. 

Acuna is hurt. Again. But this is his first hamstring injury. In his 8 year career Acuna has averaged playing only 105 games per year. Do you give him Ohtani money when he's a free agent? The Dodgers paid $40 million for Kyle Tucker. How much do you offer Ronald? You know the Mets and Dodgers and Yankees are going to overpay for him. Do you let him walk? Not sure that I really care. Shoot, Michael Harris has been injury prone as well. Compare Ronald's production to Matt Olson's. Just don't sign someone who can't stay off the PEDs.    

Next up: three games in Seattle, two 940 starts and a 410 pitch pitch on Wednesday. Then the weekend series against the Dodgers.     

Yankees announcer John Sterling passed away at the age of 87. Back in the early 80's he called Braves and Hawks game - including the infamous July 4 Rick Camp home run against the Mets.  

Monday: stayed in bed all morning - except when Winnie was demanding to go outside at 715 am. I guess that I feel a little bit better, but not much. Yesterday all I ate was a few donut holes before we left for the recital, and for supper when we got back. Also the Jeni's ice cream. This morning I ate Ceil's leftover oatmeal. 

An AJC editorial has piled on Bellwood Coffee's misstep. Near the end of her editorial, Columbia graduate Nedra Rhone finally compares Bellwood's values to those of the saintly Jovita, a former local news anchor who "also gave time and support to various Atlanta organizations". Rhone describes Jovita as a "local news icon" and a "trailblazer". Rhone writes that Bellwood's "blunder...threatens to tear the community apart". Typical AJC. Typical life in 2026.

While this was an editorial, at some point it would be nice (and fair) if a WSB or AJC journalist took the time to ask Bellwood for their side of the story, instead of  regurgitating their social media posts. Again, it's the unforgiving attitudes in the posts that are the most sad thing about all this.They'd rather have an empty building in their neighborhood than have an actual business generating tax revenues that can be funneled back into the city. 

Denison: addressing a joint session of Congress, King Charles stated that “for many here—and for myself—the Christian faith is a firm anchor and daily inspiration that guides us not only personally, but together as members of our community.” 

Found this SGA Gladiators / Flames jersey for Matthew.

Shivonne's First Recital

Shivonne had her first ever ballet recital Sunday afternoon, at the Ferst Center at GT. I'd never been to the Ferst Center before, it was built next to the Student Center after I graduated. A beautiful afternoon. We sat in the sun beforehand. 

A&C and Miller came. MC's mother, me and C, W&MC and Millie. Also the older nanny who'd kept Shivonne and Millie before they'd started the Montessori School. Now she works at Mercedes Benz Stadium.

The Neighborhood Ballet recital lasted an hour. Amazing to see how tiny little kids would perform with only their instructor leading them from offstage. Shivonne did okay, despite having a runny nose. After the recital we took pictures. 

There was gridlock leaving the $15 parking deck, with only one exit funneling out onto a busy road. You'd think those Georgia Tech engineers could design a better mousetrap. We sat there in the deck with the engine turned off, because we weren't moving anywhere for long periods of time. Finally a few cars ahead of us figured out they could cut between two concrete pillars and circle back to use the entrance as an exit. 

After we finally got out of the GT parking deck we fought gridlock traffic over to Westside Provisions for Jeni's Ice Cream. Good stuff. 

I was able to talk to Will about the trouble Joel and Charles Norman are having at the new Bellwood Coffee in Grant Park. Lots of irate posters on social media after Bellwood had painted over a Jovita Moore mural. How could they have known it would cause such an outcry? Bellwood has promised to put up another Jovita mural, but evidently the apology wasn't good enough for several unforgiving posters. Even WSB did a poor job of twisting the story to cause more of an outcry. So sad.

Got home and crashed on the couch. 

Friday: Ceil has been feeling poorly these past few days. Friday for the second straight night I got her the chicken soup from El Porton, the Mexican restaurant next to Stinky Kroger. Then she drove over to spend the night at Anna's, with Caleb staying up in Dahlonega for his wedding.

Saturday: skipped golf because AM rain was in the forecast. Ran some errands for a few hours, first stopping by Taco Bell for lunch, because it was on my way. 

Then to Bellwood Coffee on Bolton Road to get C some joe. Returned straight up Atlanta Road to avoid 285 traffic. Stopped by three thrift stores on the way home. At 3 pm Anna and Miller stopped by to drop off Goose and pick up Ceil. They drove up to north Georgia for the wedding. They got back late.

I caught whatever sickness Ceil has, and feel terrible. Saturday afternoon my throat started hurting. Sunday morning I woke up with all my joints aching. We didn't go to church. 

ICE BOX CHAMBERLAIN [SABR Bio] On 09-May-1888, Chamberlain, pitching for Louisville, had dominated the batsmen of the woeful Kansas City Cowboys. When the score reached 8-0, he switched and threw with his left hand. The fact that he was slightly less effective after switching was overlooked by the magic he had wrought. Chamberlain’s 9.2 WAR in 1889 led the AA. His -0.7 WAR in 1891 was followed by five years of impressive, stable numbers. He got his nickname because he was said to possess “austere calm in the face of all hostility by the enemy”.

Denison: government affairs attorney Jay Atkins asked AI to evaluate the world’s major  religions and determine which one makes the most sense. The worldviews in question were atheism, Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, and Christianity. In seconds, AI concluded that Christianity offers the most reasonable view of the world. Atkins explained the AI’s reasoning: "Christianity" offers a comprehensive explanation of reality, why the universe exists, why it is ordered, why we are rational and moral beings, and why we long for meaning. At the same time, Christianity concentrates its evidentiary burden into a relatively small number of claims, most notably the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. That matters because a worldview that explains everything but requires you to believe a thousand fragile claims is not rational. The most reasonable worldview is the one that explains the most while assuming the least.

Puma Pandas

After the Emperors game this past Wednesday, l stopped at the Rome Goodwill store. I've been looking for a Lookouts and Emperors cap, without success. Did find an old but good looking Hank Aaron feather jersey for Will. 

And I shouldn't have, but there was a pair of black & white Puma Rebound V6 court shoes in my size, so I snapped them up. Very similar to Nike Panda Dunks, but Pumas. I already have the Pandas, but for some crazy reason just had to buy the Pumas. I'll probably sell them for a profit.

Speaking of Nike, I'm hearing that the sneaker giant's business has taken a huge hit in recent years due to poor decisions to cut back on distributers, thinking that direct sales from Nike.com would be enough. Sales have plummeted.

Exciting walk off win for the Braves, on a Matt Olson walk off HR in the bottom of the 9th. Tuesday night I finally signed up for Braves TV, and tonight Ceil and I got back home just in time to see it live.

Tuesday was the first Braves game for the new Blooper 3. The previous Blooper had to quit due to the toll the job was taking on his body (and mental state).

On Wednesday Ceil went over to Cindy Cho's house for a Korean cooking demonstration, with several other ladies. I had my last small group session until we start back in the fall. We discussed Genesis 50, how Joseph exhibited the attitude of Jesus when he forgave his brothers, instead speaking kindly to them and feeding them during the 7 year drought and beyond. With group members Chris and John H out of town and David C and John R attending on Zoom, I was the only one to make the short drive over to Dan's house. It was still good to get together.

Saw a headline that there's interesting stuff underneath Ruby Falls and Lookout Mountain - an elevator that goes down much deeper than where the public can go. Hidden secrets. I need to track down that story and report back. I've been meaning to write a posting detailing several current conspiracy theories, and Lookout Mountain and the moon eyed people of north Georgia should be on the list. 

Steve Sarkisian warns fans to not overreact to Texas QB Arch Manning’s spring rehab following foot surgery.

A Modest Proposal for a Better Ballpark: the retro era of ballparks got one very big thing wrong: it pushed fans, the median seat, further from the game than the jewel-box era it attempted to recreate.

Denison: on why Taylor Swift is so popular.

Social Media at its Worst

Did you see the big story on the local news? LOCAL BUSINESS PAINTS OVER JOVITA MOORE MURAL. The business is Bellwood Coffee, who just opened a new location in Grant Park (W&MC had attended the soft opening a few days ago). The story first blew up Thursday on social media, where as usual all sorts of inaccurate accusations are flying around. 

While we all remember Jovita from the WSB, she was never the icon that Monica Kauffman was - or so I thought. Evidently Jovita was a hero down in the Grant Park community. Her mural was on the side of the building for 7 years. Bellwood leased the building that had sat vacant for several years, and made renovations that evidently took out a good part of the mural. 

Bellwood quickly worked to correct the misstep, explaining what had happened - and promised to make it right. But in today's shoot first / listen later society, commenters on social media piled on. Said Bellwood should've done more research before painting over the mural. Rumors of protests. Many assumed Bellwood came in from out of town, that they weren't native Atlantans. Wrong. But did these irate posters do their research before posting all their untruths? No. How would Jovita have responded?

A few did reply with reasonable responses. Like most things, hopefully this will blow over quickly. Hopefully WSB won't continue to fans the flames on social media - but no, they've posted the story multiple times, heavy on the painting over the mural, with no mention of the apology and plans to make it right. Some investigative reporting / journalism on WSB's part. Instead of contacting Bellwood for a response, WSB simply read off their Instagram post.

Calls that Bellwood needed to learn a lesson, when it seemed obvious from their heartfelt responses that they had indeed learned a lesson - a very hard lesson indeed.    

Fact is that Bellwood Coffee is owned by three young guys who started with nothing. Started from scratch. At least two were born in Atlanta, and have spent their entire lives here. They live in the city and have worked to make intown neighborhoods nicer places to live. Bolton Road. East Atlanta Village. Decatur. Pershing Point. Riverside Apartments. 

Drowning out by the attacks is the fact that Bellwood had designed a special menu for Black History Month, and donated the proceeds to black-owned businesses. And this is the thanks they get.

They'd hoped to do the same in Grant Park. Might've been easier for them to open locations in cushier locations like Johns Creek and Alpharetta, but they wanted to improve the city they love. Then they get piled on for making one misstep. And when they own up to it and promise to make it right, social media is unforgiving. Such is the sad world they live in. Another reason why I need to quit social media.

WSB used to be the gold standard for Atlanta news, helped in part by Kaufman and Jovita. The only station I would watch. But like most local news stations, nowadays they report on shootings and repeat the same liberal talking points fed to them by them national media. This story is the final nail in their coffin - I won't be tuning in any more.

https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/atlanta/atlanta-coffee-house-paints-over-mural-paying-tribute-late-jovita-moore/XUO2PKIZTJBLHAWYNPQUDEFQ3Q/

My Friday: left out at 7:30 am and took 400 south to 285 east, around to 20 east. Got off at Wesley Chapel and took back roads southeast to the shooting range. Only one place to stop for over 30 minutes, at Hardees. Got a tasty loaded omelet biscuit. 

Arrived at the Clays for Commerce event right at 9 am. Timed it pretty good. Our processor Evans Tool & Die hosts the event. Nice of them to invite me. McDonalds Egg McMuffins were provided. They were cold by the time I ate mine. The Rockdale County Chamber of Commerce opened the event with prayer and the national anthem, plus a big simultaneous firing of several of the shooters.

Good to hang out with my former coworkers. I haven't spoken with Alex and Jonathan since my number had changed. Jonathan gave me a well deserved hard time for ghosting him. It was good to see them again, as well as Angie and Brad and Leo. I thanked Ricky and Rodney (above right, with CEO wife Dee) from Evans for inviting me. Also spoke to Vicki, who I'd worked with for years. Eric had been looking forward to the event, but his year old Lexus broke down last night. Sounds like work continues to be challenging. Leo is scrambling to find material. Alex is the quality manager, and says he's constantly working to reduce errors. 

Outback Steakhouse grilled lunch: burgers and chicken. The steak sandwiches looked bigger, but may not have been the best choice. Also macaroni & cheese and brownies. The experienced Evans team shot first: Ricky, CEO Dee and husband Rodney, and their son. Our guys shot 50 targets at 12:30. The score: Alex = 40 (below left), Leo = 38 (below right), and Brad = 30. We all headed out not long after that.

I had to drive the 1-1/2 from Covington across town to downtown Marietta, taking 20 west to downtown, then up 75 to the north 120 loop. Helped Anna get ready, holding baby Miler and coaxing her to sleep. By 330 she was on the road with Miller to Dahlonega for a rehearsal dinner. I brought Goose back to play with Winnie.