Announcement

Collapse

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.
See more
See less

The all new 2012/13 Area 55, G2 Zone & PTO thread....

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Re: The all new 2012/13 Area 55, G2 Zone & PTO thread....

    Originally posted by BillS View Post
    VA St garage is $12 regular, $6 rooftop, isn't it?
    I botched that, didn't I?

    Fixed it.
    Last edited by duke dynamite; 03-21-2013, 09:31 AM.

    Comment


    • Re: The all new 2012/13 Area 55, G2 Zone & PTO thread....

      Express parking garage on penn is $5 bucks and is close by bankers and is just off circle. That's where I go...

      Comment


      • Re: The all new 2012/13 Area 55, G2 Zone & PTO thread....

        Man this thread doesnt get the traffic it used to. Anyways, are any Area55ers skipping the Cavs game tonight? If so I could use 2 tickets/ Thanks in advance either way.
        If games are won and lost on a calculator and piece of paper, then why do we bother to play them?

        @LetsTalkPacers

        Comment


        • Re: The all new 2012/13 Area 55, G2 Zone & PTO thread....

          8:00pm tip tonight! Let's get some extra PTO in!

          Comment


          • Re: The all new 2012/13 Area 55, G2 Zone & PTO thread....

            What's the timing on the Saturday PTO? Knicks playoff game I mean (since this thread is sticky and doesn't "bump")

            Comment


            • Re: The all new 2012/13 Area 55, G2 Zone & PTO thread....

              Right now it looks like we will be out there at around 4 ish.
              Honestly it all depends on when the lot opens.
              I know we usually have people who show up and have to wait for the lot to open up.
              Were going to be out early, cooking out, and playing some games!

              Comment


              • Re: The all new 2012/13 Area 55, G2 Zone & PTO thread....

                AREA 55 NEWS YOU CAN TAKE TO THE BANK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                Salutations, 55ers!

                Yes, after a long hiatus, the Area 55 Newsletter resumes with its homegame Playoff Edition. There is so much to get to and so little time.

                Remember Game 1? The New York press had this to say about their home team’s disappointing loss:

                “Roy Hibbert showed off his preternatural, almost eerie knack for standing totally still and allowing drivers and their shots to bounce off his sternum. The Knicks did a fine job getting to the rim, but the Pacers built a wall around said rim. The Knicks couldn't climb it and couldn't get it to topple on them in a way that convinced the refs it was the wall's fault.

                Result?

                "The Knicks strived all season to capture the 2nd seed over Indiana...And they gave back homecourt to the Pacers in one lousy afternoon" .

                I savor that review; I thank God for Roy Hibbert and his mastery of the principle of verticality; and so enjoy beating the Knicks.

                But we can’t live in the past. Tonight, at 8:00 P.M. our Indiana Pacers have to defend the home court advantage that they wrenched from the Knicks in Game 1. Maybe ESPN hasn’t picked up on it yet (as they’ve been ignoring our guys all year) but, as we all know, the Pacers are especially good at home. Our mission tonight is to show the world that this continues to be so.

                Over the past 3 years, Area 55 has played a small part in making ours an “Arena from Hell” – an elephant burial ground where roundballers from other climes basically come to die. In our next two encounters with with New York, Bankers Life Fieldhouse has to stay that way – a venue where our foe's shots go askew, their rebounds evaporate, and their foul shots carom harmlessly off of maddeningly deadened rims. It’s a place were the enemy can’t hear or think because the noise, the general level of intensity, and our team’s stingy defensive territoriality all combine to render an opponent’s normality criminally abnormal.

                BLF has to go on being our turf tonight. Our task, as Area 55, is to help our guys defend that turf. We can’t let an emminently despicable opponent like the Knicks come in and burglarize our home. Tonight, EVERYBODY in Area 55, has to be in top form. NO LET UPS! It’ll be a gold-out, of course, and the game will be sold out. There ought to be plenty of noise even without us. But we need to set the tone. We have to fulfill the role that Roy Hibbert chose us for – to catalyze the crowd, make the mood even louder and crazier. We have to make the environment in BLF tonight totally hostile. We need to run the Knicks back to New York City spent, humbled,and exhausted, with their Dutch pantaloons down and their Big Apple genitalia hanging out for ESPN to see. Tonight is Game 3. We absolutely have to win this. We, as Area 55, have to do our job. LET’S DO IT!

                NOW FOR SOME FUN FACTS ABOUT THE KNICKS!

                What the Hell Is a Knickerbocker Anyway? Well, it all depends on context. According to the Urban Dictionary, a “Knickerbocker” can be any of around seven different things – none of which are particularly good.

                http://tinyurl.com/csts75z

                The most conventional definition has a “Knickerbocker” just being somebody from New York City. It comes from the late 1600s when New York City was then a Dutch colony called “New Amsterdam” and the inhabitants wore “knickers” for pants. Since these were so commonly seen on the streets there, the name was then applied to the residents. Thus “Knickerbockers” became the source of the New York Knickerbockers' original team name. This is all reflected in the Knickerbockers ridiculously stupid original team logo, which can be viewed here:

                http://tinyurl.com/c9dhob9

                The “Knickerbockers” name for the New York pro basketball team was later abbreviated to simply “Knicks”. The reasons for this abbreviation are murky. However, the most likely reason is that the word “Knickerbocker,” for strange reasons, came to have all kinds of unwholesome connotations above and beyond the original Dutch word for "pants." Here, the Urban Dictionary is helpful again, as it explicates some of the more pejorative and even obscene meanings that, over the years, have come to be associated with the word “Knickerbocker”.

                Warning mothers! Don’t let Junior read this.

                Urban Dictionary "Knickerbocker" Definition No. 4: “A total cheapskate, especially when it comes to making sure to use every possible coupon and special offer”

                Usage Example: “You can afford the cover charge! Don’t be such a knickerbocker!”

                Urban Dictionary "Knickerbocker" Definition No. 6: “Banging” a useful word

                Usage Example: “Go knickerbocker your grandma!”

                Urban Dictionary "Knickerbocker" Definition No. 5: “When a woman takes a man's testicles, places them in her cleavage, and then proceeds to slap her tits together creating a knickerbocker.”

                Usage Example: Man: Wait, what are you doing?!!!!

                Woman: Something I learned in art school! It's called the knickerbocker!

                (Strange knocking noises follow)

                Little Known (But Amazingly True!) Facts About the New York Knicks:

                1. Carmelo Anthony’s middle name is “Kyam” True. I haven’t been able to figure out why. Maybe it’s a variant on the famous Persian poet Omar Khayyam (“A loaf of bread, a jug of wine, and La La Vasquez!). Maybe it comes from one of those “Give Your Baby an Exotic Name” books. Maybe it just happened. And yeah, Melo’s wife’s name really is La La Vasquez and some (well, Kevin Garnett anyway) say she tastes like a honey-sweet breakfast cereal.

                Melo and La La married on Christmas Day 2004. Among the guests in attendance were LeBron James, Kim and Khloe Kardasian, and Lamar Odom (ah, the happier days!). Has his marriage and all the hobknobbing with celebs caused Melo to perhaps forget his humble roots? You be the judge.

                As a side venture, Carmelo Anthony is now involved in "Haute Time" - a luxury watch ($10,000 and up if you want one) business. It’s slogan is: “Whether you’re at the start of your journey or you’re already a collector, Haute Time will get your heart racing,”

                2. J.R. Smith’s birth name is “Earl Joseph Smith III.” Yes, they often call him Speedo but his real names is Mr. Earl. Mr. Earl is rumored to have a thing going with Rihanna. That’s our Speedo!

                http://tinyurl.com/3wffsgq

                3. Amar’e Stoudamire’s nickname is “Stat”. He gave it to himself in high school. It’s supposedly an acronym for “Standing Tall and Talented”. And how about this! Right now, he and his personal chef are working on a cookbook together that they plan to publish called “Cooking with Amar’e!” I just pre-ordered my copy on Amazon a few minutes ago!

                Last year, Amar'e cut his hand by punching a glass fire extinguisher case after a frustrating 2nd game playoff loss to the Heat. (No, no book co-authored with his physician afterwards called “Punching Inanimate Objects with Amar’e!” followed). After the incident, which jeopardized New York’s Playoff hopes greatly, the local sportswriters nicknamed him “Stitch,” as many of such were required to close the ensuing gash in his hand.

                4. Knick's reserve guard, Jason Kidd, married in 1997. Sadly, on January 9, 2007, he was forced to filed for divorce. As grounds, he cited "extreme cruelty" perpetrated on him by his wife. This cruelty was manifested in “intense jealousy, paranoia, and the threat of false domestic abuse claims to the police.” His wife counterclaimed claiming, among other things, that Jason had “damaged her hearing by smashing her head into the console of a car.” Alas, so ended a once beautiful relationship.

                5. Tyson Chandler is the subject of a 20-page, self-published e-zine called “Tyson Chandler” which features 20 separate pages of pictures of ….yup! Tyson Chandler!

                BTW Tyson has a lot in common with rural Hoosiers! Until age 10 he lived on his Grandad's farm in California where, among other things, he "slopped pigs." His Grandpa's name was "Cleotis"

                More on the wondrous New York Knicks in our next issue. All I can say now is that if there really are such things as karma, justice, and cosmic retribution for hubris, the Knicks are way overdo for a comeuppance. Now is as good a time as any for our Pacers to administer one.

                GO PACERS! GO AREA 55!
                Last edited by IndyHoya; 05-12-2013, 11:37 AM.

                Comment


                • Re: The all new 2012/13 Area 55, G2 Zone & PTO thread....

                  Originally posted by IndyHoya View Post
                  J.R. Smith’s birth name is “Earl Joseph Smith III.” Yes, they often call him Speedo but his real names is Mr. Earl.
                  I appreciate the reference to the Cadillac's hit song. Gosh, we are old!

                  Comment


                  • Re: The all new 2012/13 Area 55, G2 Zone & PTO thread....

                    Originally posted by joeyd View Post
                    I appreciate the reference to the Cadillac's hit song. Gosh, we are old!
                    Interesting. I didn't realize that the line from Paul Simon's "Was a Sunny Day" was a direct reference to the Cadillacs.

                    I learned something today! I get to stop now!
                    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


                    • Re: The all new 2012/13 Area 55, G2 Zone & PTO thread....

                      AREA 55 NEWS YOU CAN TAKE TO THE BANK!!!!!!

                      Salutations, 55ers!

                      Tonight, as you all know, it’s The Big Kahuna! Our guys are 2-1 over the favored Knicks. To date, our suave foes from The Big Apple have yet to find a way to penetrate The Wall of Hibbert and get a win this season in our Temple of Doom. The pantaloons-wearers are 0-3 in Indianapolis. If we can just put them away tonight, as Kravitz says, The Knicks are toast. They could never in a million years beat us three games straight if we go up on them 3-1.

                      Things are in a bit of disarray for the Knicks too. J. R. “Mr. Earl” Smith was still ailing as of yesterday from a mysterious antibiotic resistant ailment that he picked up while partying with a passel of chippies while doing the NYC club scene before Game 1. Kenyon Martin reportedly has the same malady and neither of them has been practicing as a result. Knicks coach Mike Woodson has had both of them quarantined in their hotel rooms hoping for a miraculous recovery.

                      That isn’t all of it. Iman “Squarehair” Shumpert is supposed to play tonight, but ESPN’s pre-game injury report says he has a “sore and bruised left knee”. Whether he plays or not depends, supposedly, on an orthopedist’s pre-game decision. Marcus Camby’s out with the heartbreak of psoriasis – whoops! Check that! Plantar fasciitis. Amar’e Stoudamire is back, but Woodson says he won’t play more than 9 to 12 minutes (his remaining time will be devoted to working with his personal chef on his soon to be published culinary tome, “Cooking with Amar’e!”).

                      Knicks All-NBA Defender, Tyson Chandler, supposedly, is still suffering from a “lingering neck injury” (NBA injuries always tend to “linger”). Maybe it's lingering or maybe it’s malingering. What’s clear is Tyson’s not been playing very well. Normally a rebounding nymphomaniac, to date, Tyson has only pulled down 12 boards during the entire series with Indiana. This is not good. Consider here that Lance Stephenson, all by his lonesome, had 13 of these precious jewels just in Game 1. Worse for Tyson, our Big Dawg has bitten him in the *** consistently in every game we’ve played. Tyson, consequently, has been grousing that the Knicks haven’t “followed their game plan” and haven’t properly doubled the Big Dawg underneath. Tyson also went so far as claiming, without mentioning names, that the Knicks scoring problems are attributable to a collective failure to “share the ball” – something NYC sports pundits say is a not-so-veiled slap at Tyson’s teammate, Carmelo Anthony (who doesn’t have the word “assist” in his workaday linguistic vocabulary and normally is above reproach, in NYC just the same). Melo, reportedly, seemed mildly irritated at Tyson’s remarks and indicated that they would “talk about it” in a team conclave that was to have transpired yesterday.

                      Anyway, none of the above bodes well for the Knicks.

                      That said, as we all know, the Knicks also regard tonight’s game as a “must-win”. I therefore expect Carmelo Kyam will be flinging up more than his usual number of threes, will be trying to penetrate the lane to get Roy in foul trouble, and will also be trying to help Chandler on the boards. As a unit, the Knicks will also likely be trying to trap us, turn us over, and even zone us so as to prevent Roy and D-Train from doing their normal havoc in the paint.

                      Our role, again, 55ers, is to be as loud as we possibly can be. This game is muy BIG. The winner of it likely will win this session of the Playoffs and go on to face Miami. LET’S DO OUR JOB!!!! NO LET UPS!!!! SCREAM OURSELVES HOARSE!!!!

                      Tonight, my friends, is pivotal. It’s really for all the marbles.

                      Important Pre-Game Stuff!!! OK, in this morning’s email package (which some of you don’t read, so I’ll repeat it here), our Suits guru and monitor, Zac Fronterhouse, advises about pre-game events a-brewing which relate to two of my favorite things: Pizza and Beer!

                      Notandum Bene: If you get off your butts and click where Zac says, you get special treatment and cuts in line for both. Zac’s missives follow:

                      NO. 1 - BEER!!!!

                      “Sorry for two emails in one night, but another big program was just announced and Area 55 is one of the first to know. You can get VIP Access to the Budweiser Beer Garden by registering now. VIP gives you access starting at 3pm. During the first two hours before the general public, you’ll get to hang out with complimentary drinks from Budweiser and listen to JMV as he broadcasts live. Then, at 5pm, the general public will gain access and drinks will return to $3.”

                      VIP Registration:

                      http://www.nba.com/pacers/get-vip-ac...er-beer-garden

                      Full Details on Budweiser Beer Garden:

                      http://www.nba.com/pacers/news/free-...en-may-14-2013

                      No. 2: PIZZA!!!!

                      “We are hosting up to 250 fans for Pizza on Pacers Plaza tomorrow, May 14, at noon and we want to make sure Area 55 is in full force. By registering via the second link below, you will get to enjoy Papa John’s and Pepsi while hanging out with Pacemates and watching Channel 13 broadcast live as the noon news will have an exclusive interview with President of Basketball Operations Donnie Walsh.
                      You must register to get complimentary Papa John’s and Pepsi, so make sure you register quickly.”

                      Full Details on Free Pizza:

                      http://www.nba.com/pacers/enjoy-pizz...ohns-and-pepsi

                      Registration Site:

                      http://www.nba.com/pacers/pre-regist...a-pacers-plaza

                      Monocles-R-Us! First some appropriate monocle-wearing vid-music:

                      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9PoUsRibtE

                      HEY, WEAR A MONOCLE TO TONITE’S GAME!

                      OK, you can take it off after tipoff, but wouldn't it be a kewl thing for a bunch of us to have something classy on when we chance to be on camera. Sure it would! We ain't hicks! We have a fashion-sense! Hence, your beloved lame-duck Prez has picked up a few monocles and also made a bunch of hand-crafted cheap-os out of plumbing supply O-rings and yellow twine that I’ll be handing out at the PTO (which ought to convene around 5 in the $5.00 lot across from Arby’s at the corner of South & Pennsylvania). Should make for a good photo op and fill Roy with joy knowing his fashion message has resonated!

                      Why wear a monocle? Well for the uninformed, our patron and stylemeister, Roy Hibbert, almost wore a monocle in his Game 3 postgame interview. In almost, but not quite, sticking it in his oversized eye socket (Paul George wisely counseled him against doing it), Roy almost, but not quite, joined the ranks of many other famous monocle wearers and cyclopean fashionistas of the past.

                      Again, why Roy and the monocle? Apparently, Roy has been a secret monocle aficionado for many moons. It all stems from a podcast he did a while back with comedienne Chelsea Peretti. In the podcast Chelsea and Roy were talking about NBA fashion-sense or the lamentable lack thereof since Commish David Stern imposed a dress code on his reluctant player-wards:

                      Roy to Chelsea: "All these guys wearing, like, skinny jeans and glasses with no frames in it, stuff like that, that’s a thing of the past. I’m going to start something new here.”

                      After Chelsea urged him to start an NBA ponytail trend, Hibbert agreed, although with the following caveat:

                      “I say a ponytail, but you have to have some sort of eyewear. I’m going with a monocle. I’ll be the first one to rock a monocle like Mr. Peanut, or whoever. Like the Monopoly guy.”

                      So Roy had a monocle that he didn’t stick in his eye at his Game 3 presser. Supposedly, after deciding against wearing it, he gave it to Indy Star sports newsie, Mike Wells. My hope is that Wells puts it to good use, carefully reviewing all of those columns he wrote about Roy not earning his contract money.

                      Also this: If Wells does not have that monocle stuck in his peeper when Brooke interviews him pre-game tonight….well, boos would minimally be in order.

                      Anyway, intrigued by The Big Dawg’s attempted resurrection of the retro style and fashion sense that always goes with monocle-wearing, I also put the Research Staff of the Area 55 Newsletter to work compiling a run-down of other famous monocle-wearers Here are the results:

                      Great Moments in Monocle-Wearing History No. 1: Mr. Peanut! http://tinyurl.com/2vuxfy

                      Great Moments in Monocle Wearing History No. 2:: The Penguin, from the original Batman TV Show! – http://tinyurl.com/c53xm3z

                      Great Moments in Monocle Wearing History No. 3: Colonel Mustard, from your old Clue game! - http://tinyurl.com/cvzwfh2

                      Great Moments in Monocle-Wearing History No. 4: Ventiloquist Edgar Bergan’s famous dummy, Charlie McCarthy! http://tinyurl.com/c7t8pht

                      Great Moments in Monocle Wearing History No. 5 : The 3-Point Monocle! http://tinyurl.com/bf3ohhg

                      Great Moments in Monocle-Wearing History No. 6 – Affable Hunnic Stalag Kommandant, Colonel Klink!
                      http://tinyurl.com/bwswbnm

                      Great Moments in Monocle-Wearing History 7 – Boris and Natasha’s Pottsylvanian Boss from the Rocky & Bullwinkle Show - Fearless Leader!
                      http://tinyurl.com/d6dryel

                      Great Moments in Monocle-Wearing History No. 8 – Dapper robot from Futurama - Bender!
                      http://tinyurl.com/d2s59oe

                      It’s Monocle Night at the PTO and in Area 55! To reiterate, to celebrate Roy’s fashion sense and generally to show our New York City viewers that Hoosiers are not, in fact, “hicks,” your Prez will be handing out his complimentary ersatz monocles at the PTO and pre-game (if any are left by then). Get yours and stick it in your eye! Be a fashion maven like Roy!
                      Let’s get a few pictures taken all-monocled up to show that we stand in solidarity with Roy’s new trend in eyewear.

                      GO PACERS! GO AREA 55! LET’S WIN THIS SUCKER!

                      Comment


                      • Re: The all new 2012/13 Area 55, G2 Zone & PTO thread....

                        Originally posted by joeyd View Post
                        I appreciate the reference to the Cadillac's hit song. Gosh, we are old!
                        Yes we are! Don't remind me! But if you liked the Cadillacs, I'm guessing you'll love the vid I inserted in today's Newsletter showing Gene Chandler (no relation to Tyson) doing "Duke of Earl"

                        "Nothing can stop me now! I'm the Duke of Earl!"

                        Comment


                        • Re: The all new 2012/13 Area 55, G2 Zone & PTO thread....

                          If you liked Speedo and the Caddies, you'll love Gene Chandler doing "Duke of Earl". Such things are wasted, methinks, on our younger readership.

                          Comment


                          • Re: The all new 2012/13 Area 55, G2 Zone & PTO thread....

                            AREA 55 NEWS YOU CAN TAKE TO THE BANK!!!!!!

                            Salutations, 55ers.

                            I could tell all of you how important tonight’s game is, but I know you all know that already.

                            I could also tell you how important it will be tonight that we be loud, raucous, and crazy, but you all know that already too.

                            I will tell you this and I'll be uncharacteristically brief. We all want to see our guys get another crack at LeBron. The Knicks stand in our way. Tonight, our guys’ mission is to eliminate the Knicks. I’m sure every member of the Pacers knows what he has to do. Frank will have them ready.

                            We have a mission too. We are part of the reason the Knicks haven’t won in Indy this year. We have to keep the crowd engaged. We need to encourage our guys; we need to thoroughly discourage the Knicks.

                            Let’s bring everything we can and leave it all in BLF tonight

                            Elbow Picks Need any more motivation? Well, for starters, we may be playing without George Hill again tonight. Right now, as this Newsletter goes out, whether George will be able to play or not will be a game-time decision dependent, in large part. on whether he passes an NBA concussion test.

                            I hope I’m wrong, but my expectation is George probably won’t play due to the head-smack he sustained on a screen thrown at him by Tyson Chandler in Game 4.

                            Here’s the Chandler screen: http://tinyurl.com/cnd8l4e

                            You may have noted that Chandler’s screening maneuver featured an extended, outwardly thrust, high elbow that was aimed, in my humble opinion, at intentionally catching a defenseless George Hill squarely in the side of his head. In my opinion, the way Chandler’s elbow was positioned made his screen “unsportsmanlike” under operative NBA rules jargon and should have merited, minimally, a Flagrant One foul, if not a Flagrant Two that would’ve had Chandler thrown out of the game and assessed a hefty fine.

                            It is one thing to set an arms-close-to-the-body-screen and totally another to stick out an elbow in order to guarantee head contact.

                            Nothing was called by the referees at the time Tyson stuck out his forearm and his elbow, of course. That’s the way things go in the NBA. Chandler wasn’t fined afterwards either. That’s the way things usually go in the NBA too, especially when the victim isn’t an ESPN-anointed NBA star.

                            For educational purposes, contrast the above non-call with another Chandler-inflicted screen in which poor LeBron James was the victim and the immediate NBA refereeing response:

                            http://tinyurl.com/beoy5w8

                            What’s the NBA rule on elbows used in screening? Our crack research staff has swung into action:

                            NBA Rule 4 – Definitions -Section X-Screen

                            A screen is the legal action of a player who, without causing undue contact, delays or prevents an opponent from reaching a desired position.
                            NBA Rule 4 – Definitions – Section IV - Fouls

                            f. An elbow foul is making contact with the elbow in an unsportsmanlike manner whether the ball is dead or alive.

                            NBA Comments on the Rules – Section II – Basic Principles - Section B - Fouls: Flagrant - Unsportsmanlike

                            To be unsportsmanlike is to act in a manner unbecoming to the image of professional basketball. It consists of acts of deceit, disrespect of officials and profanity. The penalty for such action is a technical foul. Repeated acts shall result in expulsion from the game and a minimum fine of $1000.

                            A flagrant foul-penalty (1) is unnecessary contact committed by a player against an opponent.

                            A flagrant foul-penalty (2) is unnecessary and excessive contact committed by a player against an opponent. It is an unsportsmanlike act and the offender is ejected immediately.

                            The offender will be subject to a fine not exceeding $35,000 and/or suspension by the Commissioner.

                            NBA Rule No. 12 – Fouls and Penalties – A. Technical Fouls – Section V – Conduct

                            d. A technical foul shall be assessed for unsportsmanlike tactics such as:
                            (6) A deliberately-thrown elbow or any attempted physical act with no contact involved

                            l. A player, coach or trainer must be ejected for:
                            …(3) An elbow foul which makes contact above shoulder level

                            Now you know what the rules say. How they are interpreted, of course, is another thing.

                            But this much is for certain:

                            Tyson Chandler, I think, ought to be booed constantly tonight. He’s a jerk. Let’s get in his bearded head.

                            A chant of “ELBOWS, ELBOWS” might resonate on nationwide TV too. Who knows? Maybe it’ll have a salutary effect. Maybe the next time a big guy elects to level a guard with a dangerously extended high forearm and elbow, the high rollers in the NBA front office might actually get off their dead asses and do something about it.

                            GO PACERS! GO AREA 55!

                            Comment


                            • Yeah, I guess that was "brief" - for a lawyer...

                              Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2
                              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


                              • Re: The all new 2012/13 Area 55, G2 Zone & PTO thread....

                                *grin*

                                Comment

                                Working...
                                X