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The Rules of Pacers Digest

Hello everyone,

Whether your are a long standing forum member or whether you have just registered today, it's a good idea to read and review the rules below so that you have a very good idea of what to expect when you come to Pacers Digest.

A quick note to new members: Your posts will not immediately show up when you make them. An administrator has to approve at least your first post before the forum software will later upgrade your account to the status of a fully-registered member. This usually happens within a couple of hours or so after your post(s) is/are approved, so you may need to be a little patient at first.

Why do we do this? So that it's more difficult for spammers (be they human or robot) to post, and so users who are banned cannot immediately re-register and start dousing people with verbal flames.

Below are the rules of Pacers Digest. After you have read them, you will have a very good sense of where we are coming from, what we expect, what we don't want to see, and how we react to things.

Rule #1

Pacers Digest is intended to be a place to discuss basketball without having to deal with the kinds of behaviors or attitudes that distract people from sticking with the discussion of the topics at hand. These unwanted distractions can come in many forms, and admittedly it can sometimes be tricky to pin down each and every kind that can rear its ugly head, but we feel that the following examples and explanations cover at least a good portion of that ground and should at least give people a pretty good idea of the kinds of things we actively discourage:

"Anyone who __________ is a liar / a fool / an idiot / a blind homer / has their head buried in the sand / a blind hater / doesn't know basketball / doesn't watch the games"

"People with intelligence will agree with me when I say that __________"

"Only stupid people think / believe / do ___________"

"I can't wait to hear something from PosterX when he/she sees that **insert a given incident or current event that will have probably upset or disappointed PosterX here**"

"He/she is just delusional"

"This thread is stupid / worthless / embarrassing"

"I'm going to take a moment to point and / laugh at PosterX / GroupOfPeopleY who thought / believed *insert though/belief here*"

"Remember when PosterX said OldCommentY that no longer looks good? "

In general, if a comment goes from purely on topic to something 'ad hominem' (personal jabs, personal shots, attacks, flames, however you want to call it, towards a person, or a group of people, or a given city/state/country of people), those are most likely going to be found intolerable.

We also dissuade passive aggressive behavior. This can be various things, but common examples include statements that are basically meant to imply someone is either stupid or otherwise incapable of holding a rational conversation. This can include (but is not limited to) laughing at someone's conclusions rather than offering an honest rebuttal, asking people what game they were watching, or another common problem is Poster X will say "that player isn't that bad" and then Poster Y will say something akin to "LOL you think that player is good". We're not going to tolerate those kinds of comments out of respect for the community at large and for the sake of trying to just have an honest conversation.

Now, does the above cover absolutely every single kind of distraction that is unwanted? Probably not, but you should by now have a good idea of the general types of things we will be discouraging. The above examples are meant to give you a good feel for / idea of what we're looking for. If something new or different than the above happens to come along and results in the same problem (that being, any other attitude or behavior that ultimately distracts from actually just discussing the topic at hand, or that is otherwise disrespectful to other posters), we can and we will take action to curb this as well, so please don't take this to mean that if you managed to technically avoid saying something exactly like one of the above examples that you are then somehow off the hook.

That all having been said, our goal is to do so in a generally kind and respectful way, and that doesn't mean the moment we see something we don't like that somebody is going to be suspended or banned, either. It just means that at the very least we will probably say something about it, quite possibly snipping out the distracting parts of the post in question while leaving alone the parts that are actually just discussing the topics, and in the event of a repeating or excessive problem, then we will start issuing infractions to try to further discourage further repeat problems, and if it just never seems to improve, then finally suspensions or bans will come into play. We would prefer it never went that far, and most of the time for most of our posters, it won't ever have to.

A slip up every once and a while is pretty normal, but, again, when it becomes repetitive or excessive, something will be done. Something occasional is probably going to be let go (within reason), but when it starts to become habitual or otherwise a pattern, odds are very good that we will step in.

There's always a small minority that like to push people's buttons and/or test their own boundaries with regards to the administrators, and in the case of someone acting like that, please be aware that this is not a court of law, but a private website run by people who are simply trying to do the right thing as they see it. If we feel that you are a special case that needs to be dealt with in an exceptional way because your behavior isn't explicitly mirroring one of our above examples of what we generally discourage, we can and we will take atypical action to prevent this from continuing if you are not cooperative with us.

Also please be aware that you will not be given a pass simply by claiming that you were 'only joking,' because quite honestly, when someone really is just joking, for one thing most people tend to pick up on the joke, including the person or group that is the target of the joke, and for another thing, in the event where an honest joke gets taken seriously and it upsets or angers someone, the person who is truly 'only joking' will quite commonly go out of his / her way to apologize and will try to mend fences. People who are dishonest about their statements being 'jokes' do not do so, and in turn that becomes a clear sign of what is really going on. It's nothing new.

In any case, quite frankly, the overall quality and health of the entire forum's community is more important than any one troublesome user will ever be, regardless of exactly how a problem is exhibiting itself, and if it comes down to us having to make a choice between you versus the greater health and happiness of the entire community, the community of this forum will win every time.

Lastly, there are also some posters, who are generally great contributors and do not otherwise cause any problems, who sometimes feel it's their place to provoke or to otherwise 'mess with' that small minority of people described in the last paragraph, and while we possibly might understand why you might feel you WANT to do something like that, the truth is we can't actually tolerate that kind of behavior from you any more than we can tolerate the behavior from them. So if we feel that you are trying to provoke those other posters into doing or saying something that will get themselves into trouble, then we will start to view you as a problem as well, because of the same reason as before: The overall health of the forum comes first, and trying to stir the pot with someone like that doesn't help, it just makes it worse. Some will simply disagree with this philosophy, but if so, then so be it because ultimately we have to do what we think is best so long as it's up to us.

If you see a problem that we haven't addressed, the best and most appropriate course for a forum member to take here is to look over to the left of the post in question. See underneath that poster's name, avatar, and other info, down where there's a little triangle with an exclamation point (!) in it? Click that. That allows you to report the post to the admins so we can definitely notice it and give it a look to see what we feel we should do about it. Beyond that, obviously it's human nature sometimes to want to speak up to the poster in question who has bothered you, but we would ask that you try to refrain from doing so because quite often what happens is two or more posters all start going back and forth about the original offending post, and suddenly the entire thread is off topic or otherwise derailed. So while the urge to police it yourself is understandable, it's best to just report it to us and let us handle it. Thank you!

All of the above is going to be subject to a case by case basis, but generally and broadly speaking, this should give everyone a pretty good idea of how things will typically / most often be handled.

Rule #2

If the actions of an administrator inspire you to make a comment, criticism, or express a concern about it, there is a wrong place and a couple of right places to do so.

The wrong place is to do so in the original thread in which the administrator took action. For example, if a post gets an infraction, or a post gets deleted, or a comment within a larger post gets clipped out, in a thread discussing Paul George, the wrong thing to do is to distract from the discussion of Paul George by adding your off topic thoughts on what the administrator did.

The right places to do so are:

A) Start a thread about the specific incident you want to talk about on the Feedback board. This way you are able to express yourself in an area that doesn't throw another thread off topic, and this way others can add their two cents as well if they wish, and additionally if there's something that needs to be said by the administrators, that is where they will respond to it.

B) Send a private message to the administrators, and they can respond to you that way.

If this is done the wrong way, those comments will be deleted, and if it's a repeating problem then it may also receive an infraction as well.

Rule #3

If a poster is bothering you, and an administrator has not or will not deal with that poster to the extent that you would prefer, you have a powerful tool at your disposal, one that has recently been upgraded and is now better than ever: The ability to ignore a user.

When you ignore a user, you will unfortunately still see some hints of their existence (nothing we can do about that), however, it does the following key things:

A) Any post they make will be completely invisible as you scroll through a thread.

B) The new addition to this feature: If someone QUOTES a user you are ignoring, you do not have to read who it was, or what that poster said, unless you go out of your way to click on a link to find out who it is and what they said.

To utilize this feature, from any page on Pacers Digest, scroll to the top of the page, look to the top right where it says 'Settings' and click that. From the settings page, look to the left side of the page where it says 'My Settings', and look down from there until you see 'Edit Ignore List' and click that. From here, it will say 'Add a Member to Your List...' Beneath that, click in the text box to the right of 'User Name', type in or copy & paste the username of the poster you are ignoring, and once their name is in the box, look over to the far right and click the 'Okay' button. All done!

Rule #4

Regarding infractions, currently they carry a value of one point each, and that point will expire in 31 days. If at any point a poster is carrying three points at the same time, that poster will be suspended until the oldest of the three points expires.

Rule #5

When you share or paste content or articles from another website, you must include the URL/link back to where you found it, who wrote it, and what website it's from. Said content will be removed if this doesn't happen.

An example:

If I copy and paste an article from the Indianapolis Star website, I would post something like this:

http://www.linktothearticlegoeshere.com/article
Title of the Article
Author's Name
Indianapolis Star

Rule #6

We cannot tolerate illegal videos on Pacers Digest. This means do not share any links to them, do not mention any websites that host them or link to them, do not describe how to find them in any way, and do not ask about them. Posts doing anything of the sort will be removed, the offenders will be contacted privately, and if the problem becomes habitual, you will be suspended, and if it still persists, you will probably be banned.

The legal means of watching or listening to NBA games are NBA League Pass Broadband (for US, or for International; both cost money) and NBA Audio League Pass (which is free). Look for them on NBA.com.

Rule #7

Provocative statements in a signature, or as an avatar, or as the 'tagline' beneath a poster's username (where it says 'Member' or 'Administrator' by default, if it is not altered) are an unwanted distraction that will more than likely be removed on sight. There can be shades of gray to this, but in general this could be something political or religious that is likely going to provoke or upset people, or otherwise something that is mean-spirited at the expense of a poster, a group of people, or a population.

It may or may not go without saying, but this goes for threads and posts as well, particularly when it's not made on the off-topic board (Market Square).

We do make exceptions if we feel the content is both innocuous and unlikely to cause social problems on the forum (such as wishing someone a Merry Christmas or a Happy Easter), and we also also make exceptions if such topics come up with regards to a sports figure (such as the Lance Stephenson situation bringing up discussions of domestic abuse and the law, or when Jason Collins came out as gay and how that lead to some discussion about gay rights).

However, once the discussion seems to be more/mostly about the political issues instead of the sports figure or his specific situation, the thread is usually closed.

Rule #8

We prefer self-restraint and/or modesty when making jokes or off topic comments in a sports discussion thread. They can be fun, but sometimes they derail or distract from a topic, and we don't want to see that happen. If we feel it is a problem, we will either delete or move those posts from the thread.

Rule #9

Generally speaking, we try to be a "PG-13" rated board, and we don't want to see sexual content or similarly suggestive content. Vulgarity is a more muddled issue, though again we prefer things to lean more towards "PG-13" than "R". If we feel things have gone too far, we will step in.

Rule #10

We like small signatures, not big signatures. The bigger the signature, the more likely it is an annoying or distracting signature.

Rule #11

Do not advertise anything without talking about it with the administrators first. This includes advertising with your signature, with your avatar, through private messaging, and/or by making a thread or post.
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A Digest Carol Revisited...

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  • A Digest Carol Revisited...

    ChicagoJ was dead, this must be understood. ChicagoJ had been dead these seven long seasons.

    It must be understood that ChicagoJ was dead or NOTHING WONDERUL WILL COME FROM THIS.

    Little Shade sat in his corner so very close to the fire in an effort to absorb some warmth, it was cold in Indiana and this year it was colder than most. For his employer would not allow him to turn the heat on or to add wood or coal to the fire as that would be a show of togetherness and he did not want to be reminded of the past.

    SHADE, shouted his employer, I don’t pay you to set there and read comic books or daydream about horror films, get back to work and I do not want to hear one more word from you until you have printed all of the “it’s a they thing” T-shirts.

    Yes sir, replied Shade.

    Knowing full well that tomorrow was Christmas day and he did not want to raise the ire of his employer so that he would receive the full day off and maybe just maybe some form of bonus. Young shade kept screen printing every T-shirt by hand.

    A knock was heard at the door.

    Well, said Shade's grumpy employer, don’t just set there see who it is.

    Young Shade quickly jumped from his seat and sprang to the door. Wrapping himself in an old tattered leather Pacers jacket that his employer had thrown in the trash many seasons ago.

    Another knock and Shade was quick to open the door, letting in a gust of very cold air.

    In the doorway stood a cheery faced Roaming Gnome and his wife, Gnome was wearing a leather coat that was curiously similar to the one that Shade was wearing.

    Shade greeted Gnome and his wife with the warmest of seasons greeting, being cold in body the young apprentice was still warm in spirit.

    Gnome heartily returned the genuine warmth of the greeting with one of his own.

    Is your master in, asked Gnome?

    But of course he is, said Shade, however I am afraid he has been of a very sour disposition these past few days and is even more sour today I fear.

    It is of no matter, said a cheery Gnome, I am here to invite him to Christmas dinner and to invite him to watch the “best of” Pacers games from seasons past.
    BAH HUMBUG!!!! A squeaky voice bellowed from down the stairs.

    The room somehow seemed to grow colder although the door was closed as Shades red faced employer looked down the dark narrow stairway.

    He was wearing a LeBron jersey with an “I don’t care” button attached as he slinked down the stairs to stand before them.

    It was Hicks.

    Hicks, said Gnome, come dine with us tomorrow. We have already set aside unseasoned chicken strips and pink lemonade for you. After we feast we will watch classic Pacers from the 90’s and we have an Austin Croshere retrospective that we have found narrated by Anthem.

    A Hum bug upon the Pacers and a Hum bug upon Austin , said Hicks

    A Hum bug upon the Pacers, asked a dejected Gnome?

    Yes a hum bug, said Hicks.

    You keep the Pacers in your way and I will keep the Pacers in my own way, said Hicks.

    But you hardly keep the Pacers at all anymore, said Gnome.

    Then let me leave them alone then, said a grumpy Hicks.

    What reason do you have to dislike the Pacers, asked Gnome, they have given you so many perks over the years?

    What reason do you have to like the Pacers, said Hicks, didn’t you once boo them during the National Anthem?

    Gnome ashamed of booing the team during the anthem decided to keep his Christmas cheer about him.

    I came in good Christmas cheer and I will leave under the same. I invite you to our home to feast and be merry while I wish you the warmest of Christmas cheer.

    BAH HUM BUG! Said an increasingly grumpy Hicks.

    Without further stating a word to Hicks, Gnome shook Shades hand and wished him the warmest of Christmas greetings.

    Shade warmly returned the greeting and uttered a hearty “Go Pacers” to which Gnome warmly returned as he and his wife left the building.

    Old Hicks temper started to flare.

    One more word from you, said Hicks, and you will celebrate the Holidays by losing your situation.

    A shrunken Shade began to retreat to his cubby when in through the door burst a jolly looking fellow all clad in blue and gold.

    Is this the business of “it’s a they thing” asked the man?

    I have spent a good deal of money on a sign to state that very thing, Hicks replied very agitated.

    Good then, said the man, do I have the pleasure of speaking to Mr. J or Mr. Hicks?

    ChicagoJ has been dead these past seven years, said Hicks softening ever so slightly, in fact he has been dead seven years this very night.

    I am sorry Mr. Hicks, said the man, however I am confident that Mr. J’s liberality will be echoed by his surviving partner.

    Yes, said a snickering Hicks, Chicago J and myself were kindred spirits.

    My name is Naptown Seth and I represent the Pacers foundation. We are collecting for the poor and needy in an effort to provide them with some form of comfort and joy by purchasing Pacers coats and tickets.

    Is there no goodwill store are the Pacers no longer giving away discounts to games, asked Hicks?

    Yes, said Seth, but Goodwill does not guarantee that the clothing will be Pacers gear and since the Pacers have been doing so poorly these past few years that the team gives away all that they can but it is not enough to go around.

    How much can I put you down for, asked Seth?

    Nothing, replied Hicks.

    Oh you wish to remain anonymous, asked Seth?

    I wish to be left alone, Hick replied, I do not make merry at the holiday and I do not have time for idle people who will not help themselves.

    With that Naptown Seth closed his book and took his leave.

    By now it was time to close the business for the day.

    I suppose you will want the entire day off for Christmas, said Hicks to Shade.

    Yes, it is troublesome. What reason is it to celebrate the robbing of a man every December 25, if I paid you $1.00 less you would feel yourself ill used, said Hicks. You be back in here all the earlier the next day.

    Yes sir, said Shade who then put on his tattered leather Pacers coat & placed on his Pacers gloves and ran out the door.

    Humbug, thought Hicks.

    Hicks closed up the shop for the night and carefully turned the heat off so as not to waste money. He donned his Golden State Warriors jacket and placed on his Orlando Magic wool hat and walked out the door.

    As he passed by the cold and weary he never gave them a second thought. He arrived at BW3’s and he was ushered to his usual table in the corner where he was brought his meal of naked wings and iced tea. He asked the waiter to turn the TV to any channel that was not playing an NBA game.

    After he had eaten his meal he swiftly walked past the waiter and out the door, leaving no tip.

    As he approached his house the wind was stirring almost to the point of a howl being in the air. As he wrestled with his keys in the dim light his eyes betrayed him for there on his door knocker appeared a face, a face that was in pain and anguish. He could not make out the face but he recognized the painful look on the face. Then it was gone.

    Bah Humbug, thought Hicks as he entered his house.

    The evening past and Hicks set down to enjoy a hot bowl of soup and watch firefly before going to bed.

    As he set taking his soup he became aware of a faint sound and an increasing coldness in the room.

    The sound became louder and he could now hear the clanking of chains.

    Hicks jumped from his chair to see what was the matter.

    Nothing, the sound was now gone.

    Humbug, thought Hicks, this soup is giving me gas and making me imagine things.

    He sat back down in his chair and bent over to pick up his bowl of soup when standing before him was CHICAGOJ’S GHOSTS!!!!

    Who are you, asked a very nervous and scared Hicks?

    Ask me who I was, said the Ghost.

    Ok who were you, asked Hicks, you are very particular for a ghost.

    In life I was your partner, said the ghost.

    Chicago J is that you, asked Hicks?

    Yes, said the spirit.

    Why do you wear these heavy chains and why are you haunting me, asked Hicks?

    These chains are the chains I forged in life, said a distraught J, every time I gave up a ticket because I no longer cared, every game I missed on TV because I hated the management because of my hatred of the Celtics, every time I complained about the trade that sent away my favorite player and I placed my hatred on the new player I forged a new chain.

    Do you not believe in me, asked J seeing that Hicks had an uncaring look on his face?

    The senses are a tricky thing, you might be an undigested chicken wing or some of the soup that has given me gas, said Hicks becoming more confident.

    There is more gravy than grave about you, said a once again fully confident Hicks.

    With that Chicago J let out an otherworldly ear piercing howl.

    A now very visibly shaken Hicks cried, why do you haunt me oh spirit.

    I am here to warn you, said J, these links I forged in life bind me to the earth. I can never rest, I can never know comfort. I am forced to walk the days as a spirit never being truly here or there. The chains you have forged in life are seven times longer than my own.

    But you were a good man of the non committal business, said Hicks.

    Togetherness was my business, Pacers pride was my business but I did not learn this until it was too late for me.

    With that a ghastly hand appeared from the fire place and yanked on J’s chain.

    Quick I have no more time, said J, you will be visited by three more spirits on this night and I pray that you learn the lessons that they teach you….

    With that J was pulled into the fire place and disappeared.

    With that Hicks ran to his bed, donned his Batman pajamas and pulled the blanket over his head.

    He was still visibly shaking from the event, so much so that he fell fast asleep.

    The gentle tolling on the clock bells rang, quarter past the hour, half past the hour, quarter till the hour then the hour itself.

    Hicks set up in bed and looked around the room, nothing came.

    Whew it was all a bad dream, thought Hicks and with that he laid back down turned to his side. He closed his eyes but felt a lump behind him in the bed. He rolled over to remove the out of place pillow when he came face to face with a spirit wearing a Pacers basketball cap & a Sam Mitchell jersey and nothing more.

    Hicks jumped from the bed and shouted, who are you?

    I am the ghost of Pacers past, said the spirit.

    The far past, asked Hicks?

    Your past, replied the spirit.

    Take me where you will spirit for I am tired, said Hicks.

    Grab my jersey then, said the spirit.

    Hicks looking oddly at him as he realizes that the spirit is only covered by an oversized jersey.

    Call me Kegboy, said the spirit.

    As he takes hold of his jersey, Hicks feels his body lift from the floor & through his roof.

    In the air he can hear the voices of Mark Boyle and Slick Leonard.

    The snow has grown heavy and the wind has began to howl, Hicks can barely feel himself anymore from the bone cutting wind, then poof he is in a warm room.

    Not just any warm room, but his warm room.

    There on the floor set a very young Hicks watching as the Indiana Pacers battled the mighty Chicago Bulls.

    Why have you brought me here spirit, asked Hicks, what can I gain from this?

    These are the memory's of your past, stated kegboy. These are the times that make a young man who he is in life.

    But we did not win that series, said Hicks growing slightly more wistful.

    Yes, said Kegboy, but a proud franchise battled a team that won more games than any team in history to the bitter end and took them to more games than any team had ever taken them.

    But 0they did continue to get better, said Hicks starting to feel a little of the long lost Pacers pride.

    Yes they did, said kegboy, for the next two seasons they were one of the truly elite teams in the NBA.

    A mist swirled about them and now he sees himself sitting in the fieldhouse. The chairs are empty and the only people that were there were people he knew from an old website that he once had created when he cared.

    A tear welled up in Hick’s eye as he looked down on the floor and saw a young Jeff Foster grabbing a rebound and throwing an outlet to a breaking Fred Jones.

    Why is there a tear in your eye, asked Kegboy?

    Oh nothing really I just thought that they played with a lot of heart in this game, said Hicks. This is the game after the brawl is it not?

    I only wish I could say something to Roaming Gnome right now, said Hicks

    A heavy smoke enveloped them and now Hicks sees a slightly older slightly more bald version of himself setting at the computer typing away.

    Take me away spirit, said a horror struck Hick, I cannot bear to see this.

    What troubles you, asked kegboy could it be what you are typing? With that kegboy projects the words that the young Hicks is typing on the Pacers digest forum.

    I've finally made, "The switch." It's been wonderful for my mental/emotional health.

    Drop the, "We," and switch to, "They," when referring to all things Pacers.

    It's a liberating moment of growth. I hope I never go back.

    Hicks sobbing like a baby dropped to his knees saying over and over to Kegboy, take me away please take me away.

    Kegboy having grown smaller and older in a very short time says, my time is almost up and there are still things to be learned on this night and I pray you learn them.

    Poof, Hicks was back in his bed. He falls asleep weeping.

    Ding Dong Ding Dong sounded the clanging of louder bells.

    Then an all encompassing light appeared before him and once the brightness had dimmed he saw what must have been the second of his aspirations to visit him.

    There decked out in a custom Pacers jersey and holding a chase credit card for all to see wearing fig leaves above his ears and a white Pacers hat stood the second ghost.

    Are you the second ghost that Kegboy spoke of, asked a nervous Hicks?

    Yes I am, said the cheery ghost.

    Some call me the travinator others call me the shark however you can call me by my given name of Duke Dynamite.

    Take me where you will then, I would profit from what you seek to teach me as I have already learned from kegboy.

    Grab my Mike Dunleavy underwear and away we will go, said Duke.

    Hicks reaches out nervously and ask, are these clean?

    Ha, I’ll have you know that I have not washed these since I stole them from the Pacers locker room, said a gloating Duke.

    Dear God, said a disgusted Hicks.

    He touched the elastic of his briefs and into the air they flew.

    They flew over the wild Westside, flying over club rio and the 8 second saloon. They flew into an upper scale neighborhood the kind of place that only a person who is a member of I.B.E.W. could afford.

    They appear inside the warm and loving house in front of the photo’s of the vacation trips to Hawaii and the west coast. Standing before the 80 inch TV screen Hicks and Duke Dynamite observed a large party of people enjoying the good tiding of the season.

    Doug was present wearing his old “straight up” t-shirt, apparently coming out of the closet and proclaiming his Paula Abdul fan hood. Scott H was there wearing a “DC comics sucks” t-shirt talking to Gnome about their mutual long term vacations. Indy Geezer was present along with ABA days telling story’s of the good old days and complaining about ticket prices.

    At this time Gnome steps forward and offers a toast. To Hicks, although he won't have good Pacers pride about himself anymore I say merry Christmas to him and a long happy life.

    Gnome’s wife turns to him and says for all of the good a toast will do him.

    Gnomes then says, I will greet him every year and if he finds me in good humor than I say that he will hard pressed to turn me away.

    The party fades away.

    They are flying threw the air now and have come upon the upper east side of Indianapolis, to the home of Hicks poor clerk Shade.

    Into the room is hobbling Pig Nash who is using a crutch to walk.

    What is wrong with Pig Nash, asks Hicks?

    He has engageitis, proclaims Duke, it goes all the way to the bones on him.

    Will he be ok, asks Hicks?

    I see an empty chair at the next Digest party if things do not change, said Duke.

    They are now back in the cold bedroom of Hick’s house.

    I don’t mean to speak out of turn, said a nervous Hicks, but there appears to be a set of claws out of the bottom of your jeans.

    They might as well be claws for all the good they will do them, said Duke, then out walk a boy and a girl both drawn and disfigured.

    Duke said, the girl is hatred and the boy is apathy but beware the boy most of all as he is the downfall of franchises.

    Spirit won’t a Pacers coat cover them and some free tickets help them care, asked Hicks?

    Are there no Goodwill’s, are there no free ticket, yelled Duke Dynamite, as he faded away into nothingness.

    Hicks was in a ball in the corner by the wall when a light brightly shined on him. The windows opened and a spirit appeared through the curtains.

    He pointed a bony cold finger at Hicks

    You are the spirit I fear most of all, said Hicks from his fetal position, for you are the ghost of Pacers future.

    The ghost shook his head and in doing so revealed that his face looked like BillS

    Take me where you will spirit, Hicks proclaimed, I have learned my lesson well this night & I would learn what you have to teach me.

    Hicks took the spirits cape & away they flew. East they flew far East landing in the lights of Baltimore.
    Why have you taken me here, asked Hicks?

    The spirit pointed behind him to a large arena on the edge of town with a Marquee that was just being lit up.

    Hicks quickly averted his eyes. No spirit, please tell me what is on the sign for I cannot bare to look said Hicks.

    The spirit stood silently.

    Why must you torment me so, cried Hicks.

    Along the side of the road he saw two young men walking wearing Pacers jerseys.

    Well, at the very least the team is closer to watch then in the old days said one to the other.

    No spirit please please don't let this be, cried Hicks.

    The spirit pointed to the Marquee.

    The sign said the Los Angeles Lakers vs. the Baltimore Pacers.

    Hicks screamed with all of his might dropping to the ground to plead with the spirit. No, I've learned my lesson. We are all in this together and that there is no they in team. I will live all of my days believing that I am part of the overall Pacers success and that I will strive to have Pacers pride for all of my days

    Ding ding ding ding went the clock.

    Hicks opened his eyes. I'm back I've made it.

    He jumped out of bed, threw open a window & saw a small boy.

    You, young fellow, said Hicks, what day is it?

    Why it's Christmas day, said the boy.

    Then I haven't missed it, the spirits did all of their work in one night yelled a joyous Hicks.

    He threw off his p.j.'s & dug in his closet finding his Danny Granger # 33 jersey put on gold and blue warm ups then threw on his Pacers jacket he had under the bed and ran out the door.

    He drove as fast as he could to Gnomes house.

    He opened the door and a silence came over the room. Roaming Gnome walked towards him.

    Gnome, said Hicks, I want to come to the party. I want to watch the pacers.

    Merry Christmas Hicks Merry Christmas to us all, said Roaming Gnome.

    It was said from that day forward that no man alive kept the spirit of Pacers pride as well as Hicks. He was as good a friend, neighbor and employer as any man alive.

    And to young Pig Nash who did not die, he became an older brother to care for him for the rest of his life.

    The end.

    Again, my sincere apologies to both Charles Dickens and the original Peck (I am a cheap clone of the original)


    Basketball isn't played with computers, spreadsheets, and simulations. ChicagoJ 4/21/13

  • #2
    Re: A Digest Carrol Revisited...

    Something for all of us to take to heart really.


    Comment


    • #3
      Re: A Digest Carrol Revisited...

      Peck's Christmas Carol - always one of my favorite times of the year.
      The best exercise of the human heart is reaching down and picking someone else up.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: A Digest Carrol Revisited...

        The Digest Carol is now a Christmas tradition. Maybe not the same level as "A Christmas Story" or Jimmy Stewart...maybe not even equal to the fruit cake. But a tradition nontheless.

        MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!
        It's a new day for Pacers Basketball.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: A Digest Carol Revisited...

          Squeaky?

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: A Digest Carol Revisited...

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: A Digest Carol Revisited...

              :snicker:
              Come to the Dark Side -- There's cookies!

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: A Digest Carol Revisited...

                BillS

                A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
                Or throw in a first-round pick and flip it for a max-level point guard...

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: A Digest Carol Revisited...

                  Oh, hey, before I forget, guys, I wanted to show off my super cool custom jersey I just bought:

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: A Digest Carol Revisited...

                    Send your own ElfYourself eCards
                    Read my Pacers blog:
                    8points9seconds.com

                    Follow my twitter:

                    @8pts9secs

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: A Digest Carol Revisited...

                      Well done as always.

                      I have a hunch that if I showed this to my Dad or wife, they'd both say Peck was too nice to my cynicism/ general grumpiness. As Dad tells me, "You're not happy with the Pacers unless you are not happy with the Pacers."

                      Merry Christmas everyone.
                      Why do the things that we treasure most, slip away in time
                      Till to the music we grow deaf, to God's beauty blind
                      Why do the things that connect us slowly pull us apart?
                      Till we fall away in our own darkness, a stranger to our own hearts
                      And life itself, rushing over me
                      Life itself, the wind in black elms,
                      Life itself in your heart and in your eyes, I can't make it without you

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: A Digest Carol Revisited...

                        Originally posted by JayRedd View Post
                        Send your own ElfYourself eCards
                        Oh my God that is funny!!!!!


                        Basketball isn't played with computers, spreadsheets, and simulations. ChicagoJ 4/21/13

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: A Digest Carol Revisited...

                          Originally posted by JayRedd View Post
                          Send your own ElfYourself eCards

                          Who is the guy in the sunglasses?

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: A Digest Carol Revisited...

                            Originally posted by JayRedd View Post
                            Send your own ElfYourself eCards

                            [IMG]http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyMzAwOTEyNzIwMTkmcHQ9MTIzMDA5MTI4NTM4MC ZwPTQxODgxMyZkPTIwMjY3MCZnPTImdD*mbz1hZWMwNzdjMjFk YjI*ZWE2ODVlZjFhNGI2ZGRlNjRhMQ==.gif[/IMG]
                            B.E.A. utiful!

                            Also, omg, Peck, that carol was great. Hicks now has Dunleavy's underwear. He stole them from me. He didn't change afterall.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: A Digest Carol Revisited...

                              Quis. He's rocking the gold fronts too.

                              Last edited by JayRedd; 12-24-2008, 12:18 AM.
                              Read my Pacers blog:
                              8points9seconds.com

                              Follow my twitter:

                              @8pts9secs

                              Comment

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