simbang gabi a tradition to remember..

an achivement that ive done so far this year
since december 16th.

last year i haven't completed the misa de gallo
which consists of 10 evening masses which is
a traditional way of the hispanic filipinos celebrate
their christmas.

it was a devastating failure of my whole christmas experience
not completing the misa de gallo.

as a christian i embrace this kind of tradition
because you can see the stunnishing choirs competing
with each other.

i love the commotions outside, the priest's homily ceremonies
and nevertheless the sacrifice. i walk from my house up to church
for just a distant of 9 kilometers i think.

i love the music. the christmas songs. i think of my childhood days
when i here gunter kallman choir singin. around me. its really a christmas season
for me. they are the sign of the christmas eve.

thank god ive made my own words.

as ive said before i am a man of my word. i did it. i finished my 10 day mass
alongside with my aunty and my beloved mom.

merry christmas everyone.

and have a pleasant happy new year.

everything but NAZI

Nazi - A Member of the national socialist german party founded in 1919 on fascist principles
and dominant from 1933 to 1945 in germany under the dictatorship of adolf hitler.

where it followed the principles of extreme nationalism racism totalitarian direction
of all cultural, political and economic activity and militarization while urging a destiny of world
leadership to Germany.

Fascist - one of the fascisti







- somebody who supports or advocates a system
of government characterized by dictatorship, centralized
control of private enterprise, repression of all opposition,
and extreme nationalism

Fascism - dictatorial movement: any movement,
tendency, or ideology that favors dictatorial
government, centralized control of private enterprise,
repression of all opposition, and extreme nationalism

Totalitarian - Designating or characteristic of a government controlled
exclusively by one party or faction which suppresses all opposition
and criticism and controls and regiments all social cultural and economic
activity in the country to advance its political aims

Political - pertaining to piblic policy concerned in the administration
of government

a political system distinguished from civil

belonging to the science of government treating of polity or politics

pertaining to or connected with all party or parties controlling or seeking to control
government in a state political state

Activity - the state or quality of being active action vigorous movement active force
or operation

Economic - pertaining to the science of economics money matters or wealth
management managing

Militarization - to convert to the military system

fuhrer - german boss Nazi boss

Luftwaffe - german airforce as organized by the nazi regime in 1939

SS - Schutzstaffel (defense echelon) known as the ss or black shirts in a special arm of the
german nazi party under adolf hitler founded as body guard for hitler in 1925.

the SS came under the direction of hinrich himmler in 1929.

After hitler came to power in 1933 Himmler expanded the rule of the SS making principal instrument
of the nazi germany's terror and one of the most powerful institutions of the third reich

at the height of its influence from 1939 to 1945 the ss controlled GESTAPO and all
other elements of the german police through the reich central security office (RSHA)
headed by Himmler's lieutenants, Reynard heydrich and from (1943) Ernst kaltenbrunner
and also under the RSHA where the Einsatzgruppen (special action squads) that
carried out mass execution of the jews and other racial "undesirables"

During the world war II the SS included military service called the SS Waffen (armed)
which fought alongside with the regular units of the german army.

the waffen SS eventually compromised more than 500.000 men organized into 30 divisions among them where
the death's head that guarded the nazi concentration camp.

Nazi Soviet Pact

Under these circumstances the conclusion late in August of a Pact of Non-Aggression and Friendship between National Socialist Germany and the Communist Soviet Union came as a great surprise. It doomed the Anti-Comintern Pact. Germany had previously been the leader, and wished so to regard itself, of the international struggle against Communism and the Soviet Union. Many conservative circles in the democracies had looked with complacency upon National Socialist Germany and had forgiven many of its excesses because they saw in National Socialism a bulwark against the spread of Communism. Many radicals and Marxists, on the other hand, saw in National Socialism the last stand, as they called it, of capitalism, and could therefore not believe that National Socialism and Communism had arrived at some form of cooperation.

The Pact of Friendship between Germany and the Soviet Union was primarily dictated by strategic considerations. Germany tried by this pact to impress upon Great Britain and France the futility of their promised assistance to Poland. The pact was designed to give Germany a free hand to annihilate Poland without the danger of Anglo-French interference. Should this hope not be realized, however, then the pact would make it possible for Germany to concentrate all her forces on the western front, and would at the same time open to her the vast resources of the Soviet Union, thus diminishing the effects of the blockade established by the democracies against Germany. The Soviet Government on the other hand expected that through its agreement with Germany the Soviet Union would find it possible to stay out of war, to inaugurate a policy of complete isolation, and to acquire, with the consent of Germany, certain territories and especially certain strategic outposts which would strengthen the isolation of the Soviet Union and make her more impregnable against attack. Soon, however, it became apparent that cooperation between Germany and the Soviet Union was to go further than momentary strategic advantages.

To understand that possibility, two facts should be kept in mind. First, the Soviet Union has developed under Stalin a cult of personal leadership which is completely at variance with Marxism and Leninism and which, in spite of some fundamental differences, brings the Soviet Union closer to the Fascist countries with their adherence to personal leadership. Secondly, National Socialism implied always the promise of a new "socialistic" order, of a collectivism on a strictly nationalistic or racial basis to be sure, but nevertheless in its practical consequences approaching very closely to Communism. This element had already been represented by forces in Germany which had been called Nationalbolschewismus, and by leaders like Gregor Strasser and Ernst Roehm. When Chancellor Hitler still needed the cooperation of the conservative elements in Germany and in the democratic countries, he had to liquidate these Communistic groups within the National Socialist movement, but now they could be given free scope. Whereas official Soviet circles spoke, as National Socialist propagandists did, of Great Britain and France as capitalistic imperialists and plutocracies, but denied any ideological elements in the present international conflict, the National Socialists began to stress more and more the socialistic mission of Fascism and the new Germany. This was clear in the New Year's proclamation issued on Dec. 30, 1939 by Chancellor Hitler.

Formerly the National Socialist attacks had been concentrated upon "Jewish Communism," upon an alleged "Jewish plot" which aimed at world revolution, with Moscow as its center and Marxism as its ideology. One of the leading propaganda organs of Germany, the Contra-Comintern, had published in August 1930 a leading article entitled "The Bolshevik Offensive against the World." The article was a violent attack against the Western democracies which were accused of letting Communism penetrate westwards through their friendliness towards the Soviet Union. This issue of the periodical was, however, the last under its old title. A new organ was to be devoted to an attack against "Jewish capitalism" and the conservative forces, instead of the former attack against "Jewish Communism" and world revolution. The heavily subsidized anti-Communist propaganda in Germany and in foreign countries suddenly stopped. Vast exhibitions intended to show the "horrors" of the Soviet régime disappeared. Both the Germans and the Russians were now regarded as "young and productive nations to whom belongs the future" and who are "waging this war to build up a new world." The war was presented as a great "international revolution" destined to put an end to capitalistic society in favor of socialistic planning within and among nations. The words spoken on Aug. 31 by Mr. Molotov, Prime Minister of the Soviet Union, seemed to be justified: "It would be difficult to underestimate the international importance of the Soviet-German treaty. It is a date of historic importance. It marks a turning point in the history of Europe, and not only of Europe."

Micheal Curry takes the 'DALY" Philosophy.

Micheal Curry never played for Chuck Daly. But somewhere, ol' Daddy Rich is smiling.

Anybody who recalls the heyday of the Bad Boys remembers Daly staying blithely above the fray whenever the subject of playing time for one of the NBA's all-time deepest rosters would arise.

"I don't determine playing time," he would say, in perfect earnestness, "players determine playing time."

So as Curry enters his first season as an NBA head coach with a roster of similar depth, especially in the context of the 30-time NBA, he's putting it squarely back on players to fight for every available minute.

"Guys either accept their roles or they don't play," he said after Monday's practice, the clock now down to two days before the Pistons open the 2008-09 season under their first-time head coach, "and I think guys want to play. So guys accept their roles. But you've got to reward them for their role and you've got to stay true to them playing when it calls for them to play that role."

In other words, as Curry has said over the course of camp, if he's selling Arron Afflalo on being his perimeter stopper and then Michael Redd or Paul Pierce is torching the Pistons, Afflalo had better get the chance to show he can cool them down. If not ...

"That's where problems come in," Curry said. "It never comes with guys accepting a role. As a staff, and especially for me as a head coach, I have to be able to use guys with a situation calls (for) them and I have to put them in a situation to be successful. Other than that" - and here's where Daly's ears would surely perk up - "playing time ... when you compete every day in practice, guys know who should play in front of each other.

"Guys get to compete every day. We didn't have a camp in which we had our top five guys on one team and the next five on the next team. We mixed guys up. Guys got to compete, play in a whole lot of different roles. All these guys can rank the top 10 players on the team right now."

And in case there was any chance for ambiguity, Curry met individually with all 15 players on Friday to discuss everyone's roles in all of their specifics.

So everyone knows going in exactly how he fits in the grand scheme. And Curry rates each player's every possession for each game. So there shouldn't be many surprises over the course of the season if roles change, either. A player consistently grading out in the 90s isn't going to have to worry about a diminished role, but getting frequently downgraded for missed assignments or lapses in effort or judgment will show up on the grading sheet in advance of a role suddenly being diminished.

Joe Dumars said last summer that communication was the most important aspect of being a head coach in today's NBA and Curry so far is hitting it out of the park on that score. As Joe D said in the Q&A we're posting today and Tuesday on Pistons.com, while Curry isn't bashful about pointing out errors, neither is he miserly with his praise. Case in point: Even as Amir Johnson's preseason statistics didn't leap off the scoresheet, Curry was lauding the way Johnson was fulfilling the role as Curry had explained it to him since July. Then, when Johnson got sloppy in the preseason finale and fouled out in 15 minutes against Atlanta, he unequivocally said that a young player could not afford such regressions.

With the opener approaching, Curry said there's a sense of readiness about his team.

"We're ready to get into it," he said. "You kind of get tired of practicing and playing against the guys. You're ready to get into the real game situations and that's natural. But we're ready to play and we'll see on Wednesday where we're at."

There's not a hint from Curry that anything about the job has him awestruck as tipoff draws near, though he admits that he deals with anticipation a little differently as a coach than he did as a player.

"The night before games, a ton of things are going through my head as a coach and I just grab my paper and pen and start writing different things down," he said. "As a player, I was OK. All you had to do was go out there and hit somebody one play" - though this generally works better for football players - "and your butterflies go away. Now when I get anxious at night, butterflies, I just grab my pen and paper and start jotting things down."

Kwame Brown, recovering from a right shoulder strain suffered a week ago, went through his first full practice on Monday and should be good to go on Wednesday. Indiana got bigger over the summer when it traded for Rasho Nesterovic and drafted Georgetown's Roy Hibbert, so it could be a game when Brown is the first big man off of Curry's bench instead of Jason Maxiell.
The Pacers will be missing Mike Dunleavy, who had a breakout season for the Pacers a year ago. Dunleavy played only 12 minutes in preseason while experiencing knee tendinitis.

Chuck daly is one of the pistons' best philosophers ever served the motor city. i believe mike will use the same thing. kwame brown? maybe he will be the next prodigy sun of detroit AKA Ben Wallace.

Joe Dumars Questions and Answers part 1

Pistons president Joe Dumars sat down with Pistons.com editor Keith Langlois on the eve of the 2008-09 regular season to talk about Michael Curry’s first training camp and preseason and the outlook for the Pistons on the season ahead. Here’s Part I of the transcript of their conversation. Come back to Pistons.com on Tuesday for Part II.
KEITH LANGLOIS: I’m going to start with an open and broad question because I don’t want to tie you down to anything specific, but I want to get your impression of training camp and the preseason. What struck you most about it?

JOE DUMARS: Much more sense of focus. I think Michael and the coaching staff have done a great job of getting us organized and committed to what we’re doing here. I think they’ve done an excellent job of that. I think the players came in open, understanding what the mandate was and how we’re going to do things going forward. From that standpoint, I’ve been pleased with what Mike and the coaching staff and how the players have come in and gravitated to the new way we’re doing things here. That’s been my general impression.


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KL: The media get in to see the last 30 minutes or so of practice. Under previous coaches, basically we would see them shooting free throws. So it’s an apples and oranges comparison, I realize, but what we’ve seen of these practices, they seem extremely competitive and focused. Can you comment on that aspect of it? Mike has talked often about the need to make practices competitive.
JD: Because I think, yeah, there was a need for us to become more intense and competitive in practice. We spent a portion of this summer speaking about complacency and when you come in and make your practices intense and competitive, that’s a part of getting your team out of that. You can’t just wait until games to say, OK, we’re going to be intense and competitive. Mike and I spent the whole summer talking about this. You can’t come in and have practices totally opposite of how you’re going to play the game. There has to be some carryover there. So I think the first month or so here was really about re-establishing how we’re going to play, what our approach is going to be, the focus and commitment that you have to make to be a Detroit Piston. That’s what all of this has been about. Just to change the focus back to, we’re about business. So that’s why I say I feel good about this first month, just getting that back, first and foremost.


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KL: The other day Mike said something I thought was interesting. As I’m sure you’re aware, he has his grading system – he grades every player, every game – and every drill in practice has a winner and a loser. And he said that’s all a part – he’s already looking to the postseason – he said this is all part of developing an edge that carries you through the regular season and gets you ready for the postseason. He also, when he was talking about his new offense, said we’re going to struggle at first. We’re not going to centralize the decision-making and the ballhandling quite as much and we’re going to get better shots and be less predictable, because in the postseason that’s important. Is that type of focus on the postseason something you appreciate?
JD: Yeah. I think every day you walk in here as a team you have to have a purpose and a focus on what you’re trying to do. We’ve been fortunate enough to compete at the highest level of this league for quite a few years now. So that’s the standard that we’ve set and you have to embrace that. That’s all he’s been doing. He’s coming in and embracing the standard that’s already been set here. He’s not trying to shy away from it or look for any excuses. He’s simply embracing it and saying this is what the standard is and I’m going to go for it. And I appreciate that. I respect that.


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KL: You’ve touched on this a little already, but to the extent you can tell before a regular-season game has been played, can you gauge how the veterans have responded to this pretty explicit higher standard being set here?
JD: With the young guys – let me just say this first – with the young guys, new guys into the league, they’re going to latch on to whatever is laid out there, good, bad or indifferent. So more importantly is how your veteran guys, it’s how they embrace or not, what’s happening. These guys have embraced it. They’ve embraced it. I mean, I think, you watch the last half-hour of practice when you guys have been able to watch, and see how those veteran guys are competing. You watch the games, our guys will show up. You watch the bench and see how the veterans are reacting to the young guys. I think it becomes pretty evident that these guys have embraced. Because I think guys want structure. They want accountability. They want discipline. Because these guys understand that those are all the things it takes if you’re competing at the highest level and say you want to be in the NBA Finals, well then these guys understand that’s what it takes, anyway. So you may as well embrace it. You cannot have it both ways. You can’t say you want to be playing and competing for an NBA championship and be competing at the highest level, but you don’t want discipline and accountability. They go hand in hand, so you’ve got to have it.


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KL: I know you had a high level of confidence in Mike to do this because you know him well enough and you were confident he knew the organization well enough that it would erase a lot of the normal concerns you would have with a first-time coach. But until a guy does it, I guess you never really know for sure. Have you been surprised at all that he’s been so self-assured and seemed so in control of every aspect of being a head coach so far?
JD: No, I’m not surprised. Michael has a presence about himself. He has those leadership qualities about himself and they’re real. He doesn’t have to gear himself up. He can walk out and talk to you guys and be himself and have a strong presence and know what’s on his mind. He’s confident about what he feels and he’ll express that. So I’m not surprised he’s made that type of transition in terms of stepping into that seat. There are 82 games in front of us. He’ll have some ups and downs. But I like who he is as a head coach. I like his presence and the way he carries himself and the way he goes about his business. I like the way he does it. That’s a good quality to have and I think the guys respect it.


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KL: Talk about the staff for a second. From an outsider’s perspective, it seems like a staff that – I don’t know how important getting along is – but it seems like a staff that’s all pulling the oar in the same direction.
JD: This is a good staff. This is a very good staff. It’s a very hard-working staff. They put the time in, the hours. This is a staff that has a lot of passion about what they do. I think it’s pretty clear when you’re around this staff that they have it. Not only do you and I see it, but the players sense it. They see it. I think all of that helps in the process of what we’re trying to re-establish here.


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KL: Mike’s said a few things over the course of camp and he’s said them matter-of-factly. As reporters, I guess we’ve been taken aback a little bit because he’s been sometimes blunt and plain-spoken and out there, but he’s said Rasheed’s in good shape but not where he needs to be. He said last week after the Dallas game, Rip got a delay of game tech and a technical and he gave two points away and if we had lost, I’d be talking about that right now. We have to exercise better self-control. Then Rip and Chauncey didn’t get to the scorer’s table in time and he let them know about it. I just thought it was interesting that he’s been so blunt, so up front and matter-of-fact, and it seems to be received with perfect equanimity by the players. Would that have been possible if he hadn’t come with such a built-in reputation for command?
JD: First of all, those guys respect him. That’s the basis and foundation for everything. Secondly, he’s the first to let those guys know how proud he is of them. And how pleased he is with a lot of the stuff they’re doing. So it’s not just coming down on guys. No. 1, they respect him. No. 2, he compliments those guys a lot. No. 3, when it is time for him to say something to them, or get on them about something, it’s well-received. I guess what I’m saying is, there’s the right balance in how he’s dealing with those guys. It’s not all just blunt, getting on guys. It’s pretty much the gamut. I see him complimenting them, to laughing with them, to getting on them, to being very serious with them. When you’ve got a good balance like that, it’s not a problem.

My comment about the pistons

Yep i believe they are at the backwalls of their career. as sheed's final contract. i think they should extend sheed's contract also the rest of the pistons' starters like chauncey and rip.

tayshaun should mature up his game with confidence and play aggressive as like what he did to reggie 4 years ago. which is known as THE BLOCK.

I Believe Joe D will have some adjustments with the bench. specially the emergence of Aron Afflalo, Jason Maxiell, Rodney Stuckey, Amir Johnson who had been terrific these past preseason games. and the senegal sensation Cheick Samb.

one more thing. i need a sweet impact from those fresh rookies named walter sharpe whose rumored as the 2nd tayshaun prince of the team and deron washington.. this year will be the challenge for the youngsters like them.

like the lakers. the pistons' 2nd team will emerge as what happened to the lakeshow's bench scoring. (farmar's performance, Vujacic's improved skills
and sun yuo from china)

That is all i can comment for the pistons this year.

JR (admiral) De Leon IV
The Pistongun (Detroit Pistons #1 Fan)

Wild West
by Keith Langlois


Editor’s note: Pistons.com today starts a six-part series examining the off-season moves made by the NBA’s 30 teams in a division-by-division analysis. In today’s Part I, we look at the Pacific Division: Coming in Wednesday’s Part II: Southwest.
Fitting enough that we start with the Pacific Division, because it was the startling decision by Baron Davis to opt out of the final year of his contract with Golden State that set the course for the NBA’s free agency season. When Davis opted out and immediately agreed to bolt to a divisional rival, the Los Angeles Clippers, all indications were that Davis would team up with Elton Brand to give the Clippers a shot at contending in the hypercompetitive Western Conference.

After all, it was only because Brand also made the surprising decision to opt out of the final year of his contract that the Clippers had the salary-cap space to accommodate Davis. But the eight-day moratorium period between the start of free agency and the time contracts could be signed gave Philadelphia the time it needed to clear additional cap space and bowl over Brand with an offer that sent one of the NBA’s most potent scoring and rebounding threats out of the West.

Here’s a look at the summer scoreboard for the Pacific Division’s five members in order of their significance of activity:

GOLDEN STATE

COMING – The Warriors responded to the loss of Davis by signing two free agents from within the division, getting Corey Maggette from the Clippers and Ronny Turiaf from the Lakers. Though they might have overpaid a little for each – the Lakers could have retained Turiaf, a restricted free agent, but passed on the chance to match the four-year, $17 million deal – they represent a pretty nice recovery from the shock of losing the dynamic Davis. Golden State also picked up LSU’s Anthony Randolph with a lottery pick and Randolph, though impossibly skinny at 6-foot-10 and barely 200 pounds, showed in Las Vegas he has potential to one day develop into a multidimensional weapon on the wing. A minor trade helped address the void at point guard when the Warriors got disappointing second-year guard Marcus Williams from the Nets.

GOING – The losses weren’t limited just to Davis. Golden State also lost two useful wing players to free agency, Mickael Pietrus and Matt Barnes, and let 2006 lottery pick Patrick O’Bryant walk away as a free agent.

PROJECTED LINEUP – Point guard: Monta Ellis (Marcus Williams, C.J. Watson); shooting guard: Stephen Jackson (Marco Belinelli); center: Andris Biedrins (Ronny Turiaf, Kosta Perovic); power forward: Al Harrington (Brandan Wright, Richard Hendrix); small forward: Corey Maggette (Kelenna Azubuike, Anthony Randolph).

BOTTOM LINE – In the long run, Golden State probably is better off not tied to a risky contract with Davis, who has had longstanding health and conditioning issues. In the short term, it remains to be seen if Ellis can be an orchestrator in addition to being the mercurial scorer he’s already proven to be. The Warriors are believed to be shopping Al Harrington to clear playing time for youngsters Wright and Randolph. How Maggette, a slasher who needs the ball to be effective, fits with Don Nelson’s spread-the-floor, manic attack, remains to be seen.

LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS

COMING – For a few giddy days after signing Baron Davis, the Clippers allowed themselves to believe they’d be a force in the West next season. Without Elton Brand as his sidekick, things don’t look quite so rosy for Los Angeles’ distant No. 2 team. The Clippers used the cap room they gained when Brand signed with Philly to take Marcus Camby off of Denver’s hands in a salary purge designed to get the Nuggets out from under their heavy luxury tax burden. They also picked up a serviceable backup point guard Jason Hart in trade from Utah for Brevin Knight, signed aging Jason Williams to further supplement the position and plucked Ricky Davis, a high-maintenance wing scorer, from the free-agent pool. The draft could yield major dividends. The Clips got Indiana freshman guard Eric Gordon, who possesses both deep shooting range and explosiveness to the rim, and a second-rounder with a high ceiling in Texas A&M’s massive DeAndre Jordan. Though a limited player, adding veteran tough guy Brian Skinner to a frontcourt that could use a little muscle was a decent pickup.

GOING – Losing Elton Brand was a major and thoroughly unexpected blow for the Clippers, though – as with Golden State and Davis – there was inherent risk in committing $80 million to a 265-pounder coming off a torn Achilles tendon. In order to add Camby and Ricky Davis, the Clips wound up renouncing a handful of journeymen, which leaves them a little thin around the edges. The one they might regret losing is Shaun Livingston, whose massive knee injury two years ago derailed what looked like a very bright career. Losing Corey Maggette leaves a scoring void, but the Clippers needed to make room for promising second-year forward Al Thornton, anyway.

PROJECTED LINEUP – Point guard: Baron Davis (Jason Williams, Jason Hart, Mike Taylor); shooting guard: Cuttino Mobley (Eric Gordon): center: Chris Kaman (Brian Skinner, DeAndre Jordan); power forward: Marcus Camby (Tim Thomas); small forward: Al Thornton (Ricky Davis).

SACRAMENTO

COMING – The Kings are pretty much in rebuilding mode with Kevin Martin now entrenched as the team’s centerpiece. Their lottery pick produced the first real surprise pick of the draft when the Kings opted for Rider 7-footer Jason Thompson. Thompson will be joined by another boom-or-bust type of rookie, Syracuse freshman Donte Green, acquired in a trade that can’t be formalized until 30 days passes from Green’s July signing of his rookie contract with Houston. Point guard Beno Udrih, who enjoyed something of a breakout season, was retained in free agency after the Kings traded away Mike Bibby at the trade deadline last February to make Udrih the starter. If Bobby Jackson can stay healthy – he’s also en route from Houston – he’ll help the Kings win games. Bobby Brown’s play in the Las Vegas Summer League had several teams interested in signing him and the Kings, without much behind Udrih, made the strongest pitch.

GOING – Every team in the league explored the pluses and minuses of taking on Ron Artest and all that he entails, but in the end a late first-rounder (Green) and a veteran with a lot of wear on his tread (Jackson) was the best package the Kings could fetch. The only other loss of any significance was backup point guard Anthony Johnson, who signed with Orlando in free agency.

PROJECTED LINEUP – Point guard: Beno Udrih (Bobby Brown, Sean Singletary); shooting guard: Kevin Martin (John Salmons, Quincy Douby); center: Brad Miller (Spencer Hawes, Jason Thompson); power forward: Mikki Moore (Kenny Thomas, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Shelden Williams); small forward: Francisco Garcia (Donte Green, Patrick Ewing Jr.).

BOTTOM LINE – The Kings have a glut of big men – quantity, at least – and not much in the way of wing players. They would have loved to have moved Kenny Thomas and his big contract in the Artest deal, but nobody was biting. If Thompson and Green become quality players, then the future doesn’t look so bad. But it’s a pretty safe bet Sacramento has at least one more year in the lottery.

PHOENIX

COMING – The Suns made their big move last February when they traded for Shaquille O’Neal, to mixed results. They headed into August with only 11 players signed but capped out, meaning they’re probably looking at nothing more than adding a few journeymen to veteran’s minimum deals. The big splashes of the summer were using the pick obtained from Atlanta in the Joe Johnson deal to land Stanford big man Robin Lopez, considered less of an offensive threat than his twin brother Brook, and signing erratic but athletic Golden State wing Matt Barnes in free agency. The Suns are also hoping to add second-round European point guard Goran Dragic as the backup they currently lack to Steve Nash.

GOING – An equally uneventful summer … the only player who won’t be back who even occasionally dented last year’s rotation is Brian Skinner.

PROJECTED LINEUP – Point guard: Steve Nash (D.J. Strawberry); shooting guard: Raja Bell (Leandro Barbosa); center: Shaquille O’Neal (Robin Lopez); power forward: Amare Stoudemire (Boris Diaw); small forward: Grant Hill (Matt Barnes, Alando Tucker).

BOTTOM LINE – Given the age or frailty of O’Neal, Hill and Nash, the Suns look almost dangerously thin and without the resources to do much about it unless ownership reverses itself and commits to serious luxury taxation. Hard to project anything but a step or two back for Phoenix.

LOS ANGELES LAKERS

COMING – The Lakers drafted former Detroit Renaissance and Kentucky guard Joe Crawford late in the second round. If he makes the team – a pretty considerable if – he’d have to stick around a long time before anyone thinks of him rather than a certain pugnacious NBA referee whenever the name “Joe Crawford” is uttered.

GOING – The Lakers are going to miss Ronny Turiaf, though it’s hard to question the decision to not match Golden State’s offer to the restricted free agent considering the presence of Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom.

PROJECTED LINEUP – Point guard: Derek Fisher (Jordan Farmar): shooting guard: Kobe Bryant (Sasha Vujacic, Coby Karl, Joe Crawford): center: Andrew Bynum (Chris Mihm); power forward: Pau Gasol (Vladimir Radmanovic); small forward: Lamar Odom (Luke Walton, Trevor Ariza).

BOTTOM LINE – The key for the Lakers is getting Bynum back with a healthy knee and playing at the level he was at in mid-season before going down, then learning how to play in tandem with Gasol. If that happens, there’s no question who’ll go into next spring’s playoffs as the favorite to emerge in the West.

Will Bynum: At the Point

Editor’s note: Pistons.com continues an eight-part series on the eight players from the Pistons’ NBA Las Vegas Summer League roster who have NBA futures. This week we’ll do daily stories on the three second-round draft picks, holdover center Cheikh Samb and free agent point guard Will Bynum. Next week we’ll post stories on the three players who figure to be part of the playing rotation – Rodney Stuckey, Arron Afflalo and Amir Johnson. In today’s Part II, we look at Will Bynum. Coming Wednesday: Trent Plaisted.
The Pistons thought former Illinois All-American Dee Brown was coming to Summer League with them and first in line to vie for the No. 3 slot at point guard behind Chauncey Billups and Rodney Stuckey. But when Washington offered Brown both a contract and a clearer path to playing time even before Summer League, the Pistons wasted no time in moving on to Will Bynum.

They acted with similar decisiveness in offering Bynum a guaranteed contract just hours after Summer League play wrapped up on July 20.

So it’s safe to say the Pistons saw what they were hoping to see in Bynum, a 2005 product of Georgia Tech who lifted the Yellowjackets to the 2004 NCAA title game with a driving last-second layup in a semifinal win over Oklahoma State.

That type of explosiveness and scoring ability is part of what attracted the Pistons to Bynum, but it’s been the willingness to adapt and focus on the defensive end that earned him his shot to stick in the NBA this time after a brief fling with Golden State in the 2005-06 season, when Bynum was also named NBA Development League Rookie of the Year.

“Just putting a whole bunch of pressure on the ball and trying to change the tempo of the game,” Bynum said in Las Vegas of his role. “I think that’s pretty much what I’ve got to be. I’ve got to focus every single possession on locking down my guy and putting a bunch of pressure on the ball.”

Bynum, who played with Euroleague power Maccabi Tel Aviv the last two seasons and turned down a lucrative offer in Italy to join the Pistons, averaged 11.8 points and 3.2 assists a game in Las Vegas, starting the final three games when Rodney Stuckey was idled by a minor toe injury. His seven steals tied for the team lead with Walter Sharpe.

Bynum’s season had just wound down in Israel in early July when he got an unexpected phone call from Joe Dumars, asking him if he’d like to come to Las Vegas for a chance to earn a spot in the NBA.

“It was a big shock,” Bynum said, “to get a call from a Hall of Fame player telling you he wants you to play for his team. It’s definitely a blessing. It’s a great opportunity for me.”

“Will has always been a guy that Joe has liked, as well as our staff, dating back to college when he was coming out,” Pistons vice president Scott Perry said. “I’ve watched him since he was a high school guy. Will has always been a guy with what we consider, even coming out, NBA offensive ability. The guy has a second gear. He can explode, he’s athletic, he can score, he can get in the lane and make plays – he’s always been able to do that.

“The things he had to work on when he didn’t stick around the league is defending the basketball, which he always could do but was maybe never required to do coming through high school and college, and becoming a little more responsible with the ball. He’s trying to shed himself of that and I think he’s done a nice job of that in his development.”

Bynum seemed humbled and appreciative of the opportunity the Pistons provided him and that went a long way toward convincing them that he would have the right makeup to accept the role being offered, even though Bynum has always been a big-time scorer who left the Chicago playgrounds as something of a legend.

“We all mature in life,” Perry said. “We all grow. Will is no different. Like most young kids who play, he had a dream of playing in the NBA. He got a taste of it in Golden State, but he had to go overseas, go to the D-League, go a tough route. You learn to appreciate things more. So when people tell him, because he’s a little smaller in size, ‘Hey, for you to stick on an NBA roster, you’re going to have to pick up defensively 94 feet and really get after people,’ he’s ready to do that. He accepts that.

“He’s got an opportunity now with us. He’s got a guaranteed contract and now it’s time to fulfill that dream of playing.”

Bynum has another fan in Pistons coach Michael Curry, who came to appreciate Bynum’s talents when Curry worked in NBA League Operations and spent considerable time working with D-League players and coaches.

“He’s made a concerted effort to get better defensively,” Curry said. “He’s playing the best defense I’ve ever seen him play. Sometimes he’s a little too aggressive, but we can bring that back. It’s harder to try to make a guy aggressive than calm him down.”

The role the Pistons foresee for Bynum is spot minutes behind Chauncey Billups and Rodney Stuckey, used similarly to the way they’ve employed Lindsey Hunter – coming on for four- or five-minute stretches to harass the opposition point guard and make it difficult to get into the half-court offense. Even if Hunter decides to come back and play one more season, the Pistons don’t want to put the 38-year-old veteran into a role that demanding over the course of 82 games.

But if Billups or Stuckey were to miss a week or two with a minor injury, Perry thinks Bynum would be capable of stepping up to No. 2 and giving the Pistons 12 or 15 solid minutes nightly.

“He’s got the ability to do that,” Perry said. “We looked at teams and their third point guards and went through that list of names. Hey, Will Bynum can play with that group. There’s no question in my mind.”

Walter Sharpe: the Razor Sharpe

Editor’s note: Pistons.com today starts an eight-part series on the eight players from the Pistons’ NBA Las Vegas Summer League roster who have NBA futures. This week we’ll do daily stories on the three second-round draft picks, holdover center Cheikh Samb and free agent point guard Will Bynum. Next week we’ll post stories on the three players who figure to be part of the playing rotation – Rodney Stuckey, Arron Afflalo and Amir Johnson. In today’s Part I, we look at Walter Sharpe. Coming Tuesday: Will Bynum.
One by one, the free agent small forwards who might have filled the most obvious hole on the Pistons’ roster – a quality backup behind Tayshaun Prince – signed elsewhere this summer.

James Posey left Boston for New Orleans. James Jones hooked on with Miami after getting squeezed out in Portland. Orlando snatched Mickael Pietrus off the market from Golden State. C.J. Miles signed an offer sheet from Oklahoma City as a restricted free agent. And on it went.

The Pistons weren’t about to pay starter’s money to someone who doesn’t figure to command more than 15 minutes a game – if that.

And it’s not like the Pistons don’t have options. They would bring back Walter Herrmann at the right price. Arron Afflalo showed as a rookie that he’s capable of guarding most small forwards, especially in a league trending smaller. Rip Hamilton has shown eye-opening ability to contain the elite small forwards in the East, everyone from LeBron James to Paul Pierce.

And then there’s the X-factor – Walter Sharpe.

Sharpe, the surprise pick of the Pistons when they traded out of the first round from 29 to 32 and picked up an extra second-rounder from Seattle in the process, comes to Detroit with a shallow body of work. He played only 18 college games over the past three seasons, dogged by academic and behavioral woes that he and the Pistons are fully confident have been remedied by the diagnosis and successful treatment of narcolepsy, a sleep disorder.

But as Sharpe showed in the Las Vegas Summer League, he has a rare skill set – a lanky frame that seems to make him bigger than his 6-foot-9 listed height, a fluid running motion and, most notably, an obvious comfort level handling and passing the ball on the perimeter.

The Pistons aren’t going into training camp expecting Sharpe to emerge as Prince’s backup, but they’re not going to put up barriers to stunt his growth, either. Though Sharpe’s relative inexperience might argue against a quick ascent, it also could suggest that his learning curve will be accelerated once he gets a healthy dose of exposure to the speed of the NBA game.

“I wouldn’t say anything is unrealistic,” Pistons vice president Scott Perry said after watching Sharpe in Las Vegas. “I’m sure if you talk to Walter, he’d say (being Prince’s backup) ‘is going to be me.’ That’s part of the reason he’s a good player. He has that belief. We know he has to grow and mature. If that happens, that’s tremendous. But we are not putting that pressure on him to have to be that from day one.”

Sharpe started all five Summer League games at small forward – in itself a transition, since he’d always been an interior player – and averaged 8.8 points and 3.4 rebounds while shooting 37 percent.

But it wasn’t in the numbers but the flashes – the ability to take the ball from the wing to the basket in a few long, easy strides; the comfort level in posting up overmatched smaller forwards in the post; the ease with which he strokes the ball from the perimeter to beyond the 3-point line – that makes observers feel Sharpe has an NBA future, whenever it arrives.

“We’re asking Walter to come in and move from being in the post to being a perimeter player and guard the hardest position on the floor,” Pistons coach Michael Curry said in Las Vegas. “It’s an adjustment for him, but he’s a kid that loves to play.”

Sharpe said the biggest adjustment is on the defensive end, expending a level of energy to which he was unaccustomed in chasing small forwards through screens and guarding in a much wider space than when he would check big men.

“It was different,” he said midway through the Summer League. “It took me the first two games. It was mostly fatigue, coming down and playing the three and just moving the whole game. I never had to do that. It’s just a transition. I’m adjusting.”

“At this level, and I know Michael’s told him and we’ve mentioned it to him as well, at that position – not to suggest there are nights off at other positions – but that position, in particular, is a bear,” Perry said. “Most of your teams, you’re dealing with a guy who is a focal point of your offense. Small forwards typically score and they typically run around a lot, receive a lot of screens, use ball screens, make one-on-one moves off the dribble.

“In college, he played primarily inside and could lock into a guy on the post and move in a much smaller area. Now he’s having to defend the whole court. As he gets in NBA-caliber shape, he’ll be able to do that in longer stretches and feel more comfortable doing it.”

The focus on defense and the pace at which he was learning to play affected his offense, Sharpe said, yet the flashes were already becoming more prevalent as Summer League wound down. Sharpe began to show that in individual workouts for NBA teams as the draft drew nearer, once he began focusing his efforts on basketball when his hope of regaining NCAA eligibility began to fade around June 1. In the three weeks between then and his workout for the Pistons – which they stretched to two days to get a better feel for him as both a player and person – Sharpe shed 20 pounds and began outplaying similarly sized players many had pegged for the lottery.

“I feel good about Walter Sharpe,” Perry said. “I felt good when we drafted him and I wasn’t surprised at anything I saw in Las Vegas. He’s a guy who if you look at five minutes of tape, you say, ‘Man, who is this big, skilled, talented guy?’ And then you look at another five minutes and say, ‘He’s got a lot to learn.’ We knew both of those sides when we drafted him. The bigger thing will be just getting through the year and adjusting and learning more about his body and conditioning and how all that is going to get handled and worked through.”

Under Joe Dumars, the Pistons have put a premium on players of strong character and players with a burning desire to win. The Pistons see those traits in Sharpe and were encouraged by the way he took to coaching in Las Vegas.

“The more organized basketball hours he gets, the more he learns about the game – learning to be more efficient – the better he will be,” Perry said. “He has a lot of natural ability, but he will quickly learn that at this level, there are a lot of guys with natural ability. What begins to separate them is the work they put into the game to surpass the next guy.

“Michael has commented a number of times that Walter is like a sponge. He’s going to remember what you tell him. He’s a willing learner. It’s going to be a year of learning, like it is for every rookie, no matter how talented.”

Deron Washington The Future Asset

Editor’s note: Pistons.com continues an eight-part series on the eight players from the Pistons’ NBA Las Vegas Summer League roster who have NBA futures. This week we’ll do daily stories on the three second-round draft picks, holdover center Cheikh Samb and free agent point guard Will Bynum. Next week we’ll post stories on the three players who figure to be part of the playing rotation – Rodney Stuckey, Arron Afflalo and Amir Johnson. In today’s Part IV, we look at Deron Washington. Coming Friday: Cheikh Samb.
The Pistons drafted Deron Washington at No. 59 with the future in mind – both his and theirs.

Washington will spend at least a season in Europe honing his skills, but at some point the Pistons think they’ll have a first-class perimeter defender plus a player whose athleticism meshes nicely with the NBA’s increased emphasis on playing the game over all 94 feet.

“There’s no question he will be able to defend guys at the two and three positions,” Pistons vice president Scott Perry said after Washington’s stint in the Las Vegas Summer League affirmed the team’s predraft evaluation of him. “With his length, he’s got the athletic ability and he’s got the mind-set to do it. He’s good in the open court. He can slash to the rim and make plays at the rim and with the way the game is going you need some guys on your team like that. I think he’s got a good upside and good future ahead of him.”

Washington comes by his athleticism honestly. His father, Lionel, played 15 years as a defensive back in the NFL and is currently a secondary coach for the Green Bay Packers. His mother, Denise, played college basketball at Xavier University in New Orleans.

Washington went to Virginia Tech out of high school in New Orleans – his mother, a schoolteacher, lost her home to Hurricane Katrina – and started 125 of the 128 games he played over four years for the Hokies, averaging 13.1 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists a game as a senior. He also became something of a You Tube legend for his feistiness – see the play in which a frustrated Washington, late in a tough loss to Duke, gives Lee Melchionni a little something extra – and his highlight-reel dunks.

“He’s not short on any toughness,” Perry said. “He will compete and he will fight, which is an important quality for us. But he’s very coachable and I think a guy who will make the most of whatever opportunity he gets. I was pleased with how he played in the Summer League.”

Washington averaged 6.2 points and 3.0 rebounds in 22 minutes a game while swinging between small forward and shooting guard behind both Walter Sharpe and Arron Afflalo. Though his outside shot is not yet a strength, Washington did shot .545 in Las Vegas, knocked down his only 3-point attempt and showed a nice stroke that suggests he could become an asset from the perimeter. Right now the best part of Washington’s offense comes as a finisher in transition and as the receiver of lob passes where he can use his quickness and leaping ability to go over the top of a defense. Even without having developed any chemistry with point guards Rodney Stuckey and Will Bynum, Washington threw down a few lob dunks that brought the Las Vegas crowd to its feet.

“He’s a tremendous athlete who we thought could defend on the wing and he illustrated both of those things in the Summer League,” Perry said. “He’ll continue to develop his perimeter shot. He has a good form that he can develop and become a pretty good shooter. Going overseas and having the time to do that – the time and the focus to do that – will help. I like him down the road.”

The Pistons have been working with Washington’s agent and using their network of European contacts to secure the best situation possible for him and hope to land him with a team in either Italy or Spain soon. Before Washington has to leave for abroad, they hope can take part in some or all of the three weeks of voluntary workouts Michael Curry has scheduled in Auburn Hills for August.

“We sit down (with his European coaches) and say these are the things we think he needs to develop so in time he can come back – that’s the idea,” Perry said. “And it’s important that he has coaches who have shown the willingness and the ability to develop guys. It’s also important that he has the opportunity to play. It makes no sense if he’s not going to get minutes on the floor. That will be an integral part of where he’s going as will the living situation. You want him to have the opportunity to be in a place where he’ll enjoy living a little bit because that will be a part of the adjustment.”

Cheikh Samb: Ahead of Schedule

Ahead of Schedule
by Keith Langlois


Editor’s note: Pistons.com continues an eight-part series on the eight players from the Pistons’ NBA Las Vegas Summer League roster who have NBA futures. This week we’ve posted daily stories on the three second-round draft picks, holdover center Cheikh Samb and free agent point guard Will Bynum. Next week we’ll post profiles on the three players who figure to be part of the playing rotation – Rodney Stuckey, Arron Afflalo and Amir Johnson. In today’s Part V, we look at Cheikh Samb. Coming Monday: Arron Afflalo.
The Pistons have seen enough from Cheikh Samb to know he has a long NBA career ahead of him if he so chooses. What they don’t know yet is just how great his impact on the game will be.

As a big man with an uncanny shooting touch and an enormous wing span that makes him a shot-blocking force, Samb has a skill set unique enough among to ensure he’ll always find a place on an NBA roster. And because he’s only been playing basketball for about five years, he’s still learning the nuances of the five-on-five game.

How far Samb can go will depend on a number of other factors. Can he continue to develop physically to become strong enough to battle thicker and stronger players? Will he develop enough of a back-to-the-basket game to complement his ability to step outside and knock down 18-footers? Can his love of the game and his thirst for knowledge overcome all the years of experience he missed as a youngster in Senegal more interested in soccer until his younger brother, Mamadou, began playing basketball and others urged the gangly Cheikh to give it a try?

“Cheikh brings a different component to the game,” Pistons coach Michael Curry said in Las Vegas, where Samb averaged 10 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.0 blocked shots a game in the Summer League. “He can really shoot the basketball and defensively he can change the game around the basket for us. We definitely have to continue to develop him and get him out on the court. We’re going to find minutes for him (during the regular season) in certain situations.

Samb appeared in four games for the Pistons last season, two in November when Antonio McDyess was sidelined by a shoulder injury and two late in the season when Flip Saunders began resting his starters for the playoffs. Samb was particularly impressive in a November game in Los Angeles when he blocked two shots, altered another handful, and grabbed four rebounds in 15 minutes against the Lakers, knocking down a baseline jumper, as well.

The 7-foot-1 Samb also had two stints with Fort Wayne of the NBA Development League, setting a league record with 10 blocked shots in a triple-double performance. He broke his jaw and had two teeth dislodged in his second D-League game, impressing the Pistons by not shying away from contact upon his return. And while many big men are pushed into the game because of their size but never really embrace it, Samb has amazed the Pistons with his work ethic and his openness to coaching.

“He has come in and worked hard,” said Darrell Walker, brought in by Curry as an assistant coach. “I didn’t know he was that long – very, very long. Any big man that can shoot the ball in this league has a chance to stick around and get some minutes. And with this team, Michael wanting to play his bench a lot more, he has a chance to get some minutes and he can make some shots.”

“The kid can shoot,” Rodney Stuckey said. “He’s going to be a big part of our team during the season, too. He can get in the lane and block shots and he’s coming along really well. I think he’s ahead of schedule.”

When the Pistons traded Maurice Evans to the Lakers on draft night 2006, their original blueprint called for Samb to spend two more seasons playing professionally in Spain. But when Samb showed up considerably stronger for Summer League 2007, they decided to bring him to the NBA a year ahead of time. Now they might be rethinking their original plan to give Samb a second year of D-League seasoning.

“Depending on how everything goes in camp, if he’s getting some regular time on the floor, then obviously there’s no need to send him to the D-League,” Perry said. “But if he’s not playing as many minutes and he’s inactive, the value of him getting more game experience is always an option and a possibility.”

That’s the most critical piece to hastening Samb’s development – more live, full-court basketball. All the work Samb has put into the weight room and shooting and taking individual instruction from assistant coaches, especially Dave Cowens, is also important, but there’s no substitute for basketball as played under game situations.

“The big thing for Cheikh is just getting more playing time,” Perry said. “The only thing that’s going to take care of that is continue to practice five on five, get game opportunities. He’s got to play more basketball and only time is going to cure that. You just have to wait and see when he gets here in the fall how far he’s come along. I can see the improvement in his body. You’re talking about a young guy who hasn’t played basketball for a very long time.”

Samb was listed at 195 when the Pistons traded for him, but he began seriously attacking the weights when he suffered an ankle injury during his last season in Spain. He’s somewhere in the 235 to 240 range, now, with a noticeably bigger upper body.

“For any basketball player, core strength is important – abs, back, upper legs, the middle part of the body,” Perry said. “I think his legs have gotten a little bigger, too. He just has to continue to get stronger in that base, because he’s playing against some big, strong men. He’s a taller, leaner body. As he gets stronger, the more he plays, he’ll learn how to establish better leverage and position and use the strength he does have to get places on the floor. That’s going to come, again, with just playing more basketball.”

Afflalo and Stuckey Extends the contract as a Piston

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - Detroit Pistons President of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars announced today that the team exercised its team option on the contracts of guards Rodney Stuckey and Arron Afflalo. Both contracts are now extended through the 2009-10 NBA season.
“We are pleased to have both Rodney Stuckey and Arron Afflalo signed through the 2009-10 season,” said Dumars. “Both players will continue to grow and mature within our system and we look forward to the contributions they will bring this season and beyond.”

Stuckey, 22, appeared in 57 games (two starts) last season, averaging 7.6 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 19.0 minutes per game. In two starts (Pistons 2-0 in those games) he averaged 18.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 28.5 minutes per game. Stuckey saw action in 17 playoff games (2 starts), averaging 8.2 points, 1.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 22.4 minutes per game. Filling in for an injured Chauncey Billups, he averaged 10.5 points and 4.5 assists in two playoff games as a starter, recording playoff career-highs in points (19) and minutes (34) at Orlando (5/7) in the second round. He missed the first 25 games of the season after suffering a broken left hand in the club’s final preseason game vs. Washington (10/24).

Afflalo, 22, appeared in 75 games (nine starts) last season, averaging 3.7 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.7 assists in 12.9 minutes per game…In nine starts (Pistons 6-3 in those games) he averaged 7.0 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 21.1 minutes per game. Afflalo became the first Pistons rookie since Grant Hill (1994-95) to start a season opener at Miami (11/1) when he played in place of Richard Hamilton who missed the game tending to the birth of his son. He scored 10-plus points seven times and led the team in scoring twice during the year. He also recorded a career-high 15 points twice [at Miami (3/27) and at Cleveland (4/16)], grabbed a career-high eight rebounds and dished out a career-high four assists at Cleveland (4/16).

Kwame Brown: Welcome to the Motown Pistons

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – Given the legal morass swirling around Detroit’s mayoral Manoogian Mansion, it wouldn’t appear a great time to be Kwame in Detroit. But with apologies to Kwame Kilpatrick, Kwame Brown thinks it’s a great time to be a Detroit Piston.
With his career at something of a crossroads, the No. 1 pick in the 2001 draft has chosen a path that has established aimless careers or restored damaged ones for so many before him – Ben Wallace, Chauncey Billups, Rasheed Wallace, Rip Hamilton, Antonio McDyess, et al.

“I’m happy to be back (in the Eastern Conference),” Brown said in a Tuesday morning conference call. “I feel like I can use my size, my defensive presence and my strength to my advantage a little better over here. And I’m just very excited about how they’ve embraced me – the coaching staff, my teammates. It just seems like a first-class organization.”

Though Brown, who spent the past three years with the Los Angeles Lakers before being traded to Memphis as part of the Pau Gasol trade in February, is a seven-year veteran, he’s still only 26. That makes him less than a year older than Jason Maxiell, a player the Pistons feel still has plenty of growth potential. As Brown evaluated his free-agent options – he says he considered a few other teams, but wouldn’t divulge which ones – he saw Joe Dumars’ Pistons as the one with the greatest capacity to help him unleash his potential.

“I can’t speak for Mr. Dumars, but I definitely hope he sees in me what a lot of people don’t see,” he said. “A lot of people don’t take pride in their defense and don’t tip their hat to guys that go out and stick their nose in there and play hard on defense. I think I’ve been one of the underrated defensive players in the league. I think on this team I’ll have a chance to shine and that’s exactly what this team needs. Every team doesn’t need a big guy that plays defense and runs the court, but this team happens to have that gap in the size they need.”

The Pistons’ depth chart at the two interior positions includes incumbent starters Rasheed Wallace and Antonio McDyess backed by fourth-year forwards Jason Maxiell and Amir Johnson. So even if other teams weren’t quite as deep up front, Brown’s hope is that his great size – at 6-foot-11, 270 pounds, he becomes the closest thing the Pistons have to a true power player able to defend opposing centers – will carve out a niche for him.

“I’m just happy to be a Detroit Piston,” he said. “I think a lot of things will be answered once we start playing. I’m not concerned about playing time, not concerned if I start. That’s the coaches’ job. I just have to get myself the best prepared as I can.”

That’s a process that will start next week for Brown when he anticipates coming to Auburn Hills to huddle with strength coach Arnie Kander and spend a few weeks absorbing the culture of his new team.

That will be his chance to make a positive first impression in what sets up as a critical season for Brown, who signed what has been widely reported as a two-year contract worth $8 million with the second year at his option. That means that if Brown muscles his way into the rotation and becomes a mainstay for a winning team, he could strike it rich in free agency next summer.

He’s banking on the winning environment here and the career reclamations that have occurred for others to rehabilitate his tarnished reputation.

“Those are the things that will work themselves out,” he said. “It’s a long season. My thing is this is a team that is definitely a contender. They’ve been to the Eastern Conference finals and the playoffs every year and that’s what I wanted to surround myself around. I wanted to go to a team that’s already established. It’s about coming out and playing hard and playing smart. Being around guys like Rasheed and Chauncey and Tayshaun and Rip Hamilton can definitely help elevate me to the next level.”

Brown has lived with the tag of being a disappointment since his rookie season when Michael Jordan made him Washington’s No. 1 pick as a high school kid who didn’t start getting national attention until his senior year, when he’d signed a letter of intent to attend Florida. His best season came in his third year, 2003-04, when he averaged 10.9 points and 7.4 rebounds in 30 minutes a game for the 25-57 Wizards. After an injury-played 2004-05 season that limited him to 42 games, Brown was shipped to Washington in the deal for Caron Butler.

“I can sit here and spill out all kinds of stuff, injuries or what have you,” Brown said for the reasons his career has stalled. “But I’m not going to do that. The past is the past. I’m not going to disrespect my new organization by saying anything that sounds like an excuse. This is a first for me – I was able to pick and choose from a couple of different teams. This is where I wanted to go and this is where I decided to be and this is my home now.”

Physically, the Pistons are getting Brown at that point in his career when he should be at or nearing his peak. Mentally, Brown says, they’re getting a player who’s been prodded and tested at every turn.

“I’ve heard it all. I’ve been through it all. I’m only 26, but I’ve been through things the average man couldn’t imagine. Your shortcomings play out in the media and get blown up tenfold, but whatever you can say negative about Kwame Brown, everybody who’s met me hasn’t had that opinion. Those people don’t know me. Those people haven’t sat down and broken bread with me.

“I’m in the best situation ever. I’m in a situation now where no one is expecting nothing. I came into the league the No. 1 draft pick. Now I’m on the different end of the spectrum.”

The Pistons are hoping it’s the best time for Kwame in Detroit.

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AGent Zero Says it

came out of a quick retirement for this blog. I wanted to announce that I’m happy to remain a Washington Wizard.

Wizards fans, go ahead and renew your tickets. We got the team back, we’re going to be healthy and I don’t know what the slogan is for next year, so I can’t say it. Before I could say like “Ready to Rule” or “Go All In,” but they haven’t told me the new one yet, so I can’t say it.

But really, I wanted to blog to tell you all about my trip.

Shanghai, Beijing
I was gone for a total of 12 days. We started out by going to Shanghai, the kingdom of Yao.

You know how when you’re on a plane for 13 hours and you start thinking about everything in the world? Well I was watching an episode of Dave Chappelle in Asia and he was like Godzilla compared to everybody so I was having the same little thought process like, Damn, am I going to be like four feet taller than everybody over there?

Wrong.

Everybody was tall.

I felt short. I was surprised. It wasn’t what you thought. Everybody was tall and long. All the basketball kids were long and lanky.

Anyway, when I got to the airport there was probably 100 fans out there, plus media and paparazzi … you know, it felt nice.

From there, I did a whole bunch of interviews. Doing interviews in different countries is a little weird because if they don’t speak English, you need an interpreter. And then if the interpreter doesn’t speak that good English, you need an interpreter for the interpreter. So, it was interesting, but it was fun.

I did one live online interview in Shanghai and there were 500,000 visitors who streamed into the chat. That blew me away. A half a million people. Whoo!

I helped adidas open up the biggest adidas store in Beijing. Beijing was nice, a lot of smog out there, but other than that it looks like New York. New York’s got rats and dirty gutters, they got smog. Same thing. It’s worse than L.A. smog. You would think it’s either early in the morning or about seven o’clock at night all day. It looks like that all day. It’s like you just woke up and are waiting for the sun to kick in and it never quite gets there. It’s just a black cloud over the city, in Shanghai and Beijing.

Hong Kong
After that we landed in Hong Kong. (We were only in Hong Kong for about an hour, but I have to count that as part of the places I’ve visited.)

Manila
Then we stopped in Manila. It was a different world. I’ve never seen fans like that in my life. These pictures can’t even do justice to what was going on out there. I had a reception at a small, little venue to welcome me to the city and there were 200 people there.

One thing I want to say about Filipinos: they’re very warm people, very good-hearted people. Like, everybody was nice. You know, you meet nice people, but a whole country of nice, genuine, warm-hearted people was unbelievable. These are diehard fans.

I really didn’t know if I was in Game 7 of a playoff series, I couldn’t tell the difference. Everywhere I went it was just bananas.

I also want to give a shout out to my man from Maryland who flew from MD to the Philippines and told me the reason he flew all the way out there was to get autographs from me because he knew I was going to be there at that date and time.

I did a couple mall tours. I also helped a kid with his wish. It was in one of the poverty areas in Manila and there’s a group called GK that builds homes for people all over the world. They helped this community out by putting people in homes. I guess a couple weeks before we got there, a hurricane hit and destroyed their community and GK helped build it back up.

One little kid who lived there wanted a basketball court for his community so all the kids could play so I donated – with the help of GK and adidas – a basketball court to that community and the kid was very happy.

You have to look at the Agent Zero posters they had out there. They put me in a cape at one of my last events in Manila. It was at one of their biggest malls and they were predicting it was going to be crowded. I mean, crowded to me is a Saturday afternoon at the mall where you have to wait in line for 10 minutes to pay for your jeans. Their crowded was probably four or five thousand people in the mall. It was like nothing I’ve ever seen before, and I’ve seen crazy fans all over the world. It was like Golden State against the Dallas Mavericks with Game 3 back in Oakland. It was that type of atmosphere in the mall.

I was stunned.

They made me feel like an NBA star.

Any NBA players out there: If you’re having a bad day, or you’re having a bad career, go to Manila. They’ll bring your spirits up, trust me.

I felt like I just won the NBA championship, to be for real.

After we left the mall we were looking at pictures from the event a couple days later and we were telling ourselves, "Man, that was unreal!"

Plus, with the security I had, I felt like I was the President. I felt like I was Obama. I really felt like I was running in the presidential election, especially when I got to meet the U.S. ambassador out in the Philippines. We had a great time talking to each other.

We actually went to a college basketball game together. Their college game would be like if it was Duke and Maryland playing each other and you split the crowd in half, 50-50. One side of their gym was blue and one side of their gym was green and everybody was just yelling.

Backstage I met Manny Pacquiao, he’s the town hero. I have to be honest, they made me feel even bigger than him at the moment. I talked to him and he invited me to his November fight, so if I have time and depending on if we have a day off, I might go see that. Oh, I also met Jet Li in Shanghai, can’t leave him out.

On top of everything else in Manila, I stayed at the best hotel I’ve ever stayed at – The Peninsula. I was in the mack daddy “El Presidente” suite and was like the Fresh Prince with Geoffrey – I had a live-in butler.

One more note on Manila, just so you guys can get a picture of what kind of people they are and how much they adore and love entertainers and the NBA. Think about this: If you’ve ever been to a Beyoncé concert, or anybody’s concert in the states really, if they sell out an arena it will be 20,000 fans. Last year in Beyoncé’s hometown, Houston, she pulled in 12,000 people to her show. D.C. was her biggest sell, she put 18,000 people in the seats. Meanwhile, she was in Manila for two days to do two concerts and she had 85,000 people, two nights straight.

She couldn’t even do it in the arena, she had to do it on the lawn. Like, “Everybody, y’all just get in the grass, I’m going to perform.”

That’s how the people are out there.

Berlin
So the trip continued and we took that energy to Berlin and that’s another 13-hour flight. We spent half the time talking about how crazy Manila was, so it didn’t feel too long.

Jewish people will say Berlin is home to “him,” everybody else says it’s home to Hitler. Our driver was telling us the history of the whole thing and how Germans are ashamed of him. He also showed us the remnants of the Berlin Wall and the history behind that and what happened. I was interested because when you’re in America, you don’t really pay attention to stuff like that. You hear about it, but you don’t pay attention. So it was intriguing to hear the driver tell us all of the history from a first-hand perspective.

Germany was a great place. Once I left Asia I was done with the adidas tour. Going to Germany was for the NBA to promote Europe Live. I did a full promotional tour. I did all my radio stuff, did my business meetings, got my mingle, used my charm, you know.

I was giving them my little grin, putting my little smile on. Just showing the ladies the pretty eyes and the smile, trying to get some corporate deals done. No big deal.

I met with the developers of the new O2 Arena out there. The first basketball game that will be played there is the Wizards vs. the Hornets during Europe Live. It’s coming together really nice. The guy that designed the STAPLES Center is helping out with the O2, so there’s a lot of glass on the outside and it looks really nice.

What was funny about Berlin is: 1) It’s a very clean city (that’s not the funny part, but it’s a very clean city) 2) The funny part is, their cabs were Beamers. So, NBA players, if you driver a Beamer, your swag is questionable because if you go to Berlin, that’s just a cab.

Another funny thing was that we landed at 10:30 at night and it was still light outside. It was still basically day time. Back in D.C. the sun is going down around 8:15 at this time of July. It’s crazy. So it was finally dark at 11 o’clock in Berlin and then at four o’clock the light was back on, the sun was up again. They have the shortest nights I’ve ever seen in my life. It was messing me up because I’m a dark person. I go to sleep when it’s dark. So I was wide awake a four o’clock and then I’m trying to make it through my interviews that morning.

The people in Berlin were so nice though. One night we went to dinner at a nice restaurant and we didn’t have cash and it ended up being a cash-only place. (I’ve never heard of that before.) So we only had a credit card and we ate probably 90 euros worth of food – which is probably $140 American since Bush done messed up the economy - and they gave us the meal for free. It’s kind of funny, Bush. We can’t even go to Europe and be big ballers any more. They come to the U.S. and feel like kings now. Gas out there for us is nine dollars a gallon, I did the math and everything.

Amsterdam
We stopped in Amsterdam for an hour, I got to mention that. Just the airport though …

Barcelona
Finally, we flew to Barcelona, home of Pau Gasol. That was a beautiful city too. Spain is beautiful. The home of Antonio Banderas and Penelope Cruz and one of my favorites … El Calderon! He’s not actually from Barcelona, but the Spanish are Spanish. Actually, they have a lot of pros in the league, believe it or not. They have Pau Gasol, Marc Gasol, Calderon, Garbajosa, Navarro and Rodriguez and Fernandez from Portland. That’s about seven players.

Oh man, but all of the interviews started the same way. I had an interpreter by my side but I heard all the Spanish I needed to hear: “Calderon.” I was thinking, Oh, shoot. Here comes the El Calderon. So, I had to do a lot of speaking about him. It was funny though.

They were very knowledgeable fans about basketball out there. They were asking me questions that I haven’t heard since I was a rookie. They did their research on questions, I was very surprised. I thought I was going to get the same questions … “How does it feel to sign a $100 million deal? … How is your injury? … Can you get the Wizards out of the First Round? … How does it feel losing to Cleveland?” I thought I was going to get the same old questions that reporters say in the states. But, no, they were pulling out some great stuff.

The Barcelonians – I think you can call them Barcelonians – told me, “Yeah! You saved the best city for last!”

It was just a wonderful trip. Tiring, I couldn’t wait to get back to the states, but I’m glad I did it. I’m glad that I didn’t back out of it. It was an “unsurreal” experience. It was surreal, it was unreal and it was needed. Before you leave you hear the media say all that they can say about you – about your contract and what you’re worth and what you’re not worth – and then you go to countries where people actually genuinely love you, it puts you on a high.

To be honest, it’s the only reason I’m blogging again. I’m not even going to lie. Everybody in China, Philippines, Berlin and Barcelona, all they kept saying was, “I love your blog. Keep blogging! What are you going to say about us?” When I told them, “I retired due to technical difficulties with our media,” they were like, “Noooooo! Do it in Chinese so they can’t read it! Do it in Spanish so they can’t read it!”

Free Agent Season
I’ve been paying attention to what’s been going on and I know that Maggette better thank Baron Davis for the contract he has because Baron opened up the market for him to get paid because if Baron hadn’t opted out there wouldn’t have been any money out there for him.

Elton Brand --- whoo! Elton Brand in Philly … it’s hard to tell how that will work out. The way Philly played last year, I would have went after Josh Smith hard. You got long, agile, up-and-down players and if you had Smith at the four, Dalembert at the five and Iguodala at the three, you would have had a jumping, running, young and exciting team. If you want to utilize Elton Brand, you’re going to have to slow the ball down. That should be interesting to see how that actually pans out.

Richard Jefferson going to Milwaukee …. HAHAHA! Oh man, now that is funny. When I heard that, I started laughing. Oh man, did I start laughing. You know why? Because every player hates Milwaukee. Nobody wants to live in Milwaukee. I’m sorry, Milwaukee, to come down hard on you, but no one in the NBA wants to play in Milwaukee. From him going from New Jersey, actually from New York (because he lives in New York), from New York to Milwaukee is like going … let’s just say it’s not going to sit well with you. That was a funny one when I heard that one. I know Yi is happy though.

Baron Davis in L.A. … my biggest concern is whether he’ll be able to focus now that he’s in his hometown. He has a lot of stuff going on. He’s into movies, he’s home, a lot of people are going to be latching on to him … it’s going to be up to him whether it’s going to be successful. He wants to be in a bigger market, but the Clippers are the third team in L.A. First it’s the Lakers, then it’s the Dodgers and third might be the Clippers. And depending on the time of year, you might have some college teams more popular than the Clippers. But, good luck to him.

Corey Maggette and the Warriors … I’m still trying to figure out how they’re going to play him because they already got Captain Jack at the three. Maybe they’ll play Jack and him at the two and the three, then I guess it makes sense, but I don’t know. They have a lot of players at that position, that 2-3, small forward position.

Wizards Pickups
I don’t see James Posey coming, even though he did win his second ring. He might go ahead and go for the money, but if the thinks he can get a third one he might go back. It would be nice to get a backup three now that Roger is with the Spurs.

JaVale McGee, from what I’ve seen on YouTube, is very long, very agile … a little on the thin side, but block shots. Hopefully he’ll be a little like a Tyson Chandler, maybe he can score a little bit better, we’ll have to see how his development goes. He reminds me of a young Marcus Camby a little bit. He has a little soft touch.

I liked Dee Brown when he was in college with Luther Head and Deron Williams, they had a nice little trio over there. Good luck to him trying to make the team, I know he’s going to be out in Vegas with them this week.

What Did I Say?
Some people got mad at me when I said that guys shouldn’t turn down money … Hey … that’s all I can say … Hey. For somebody who’s been in the league seven years and knows what to look for, it may have gotten agents and fans and my dad mad that I made that comment, but like I said, nothing is guaranteed. I was fortunate to get a contract this summer and some other people have been fortunate, but you never know. You never know what management’s plans are. They’ll ship you out. It’s like a recycling bin. People come in, people leave. I see Derrick Rose went to Chicago, so now Chicago has to deal with Kirk Hinrich, Ben Gordon, Larry Hughes … somebody has to go.

Then you have Okafor too, he’s another guy who if he doesn’t go back to his own team, there’s not much money out there for him. And since their teams know there’s no money out there for them, what does that mean? There’s no competition, that means the teams can give the players whatever the teams want. Either that, or the players can sign a one-year deal. It’s kind of sad that I was right, but I’m just a player that wants to see everybody get paid. That’s the business. You want to see everybody get paid.

Good Luck, Brandon Jennings
Brandon Jennings, the kid who is about to open up another level of doors and make history by playing overseas out of high school. I’m kind of intrigued to see what’s going to happen. I’m rooting for him: 1) Because he was going to go to Arizona if he had made his grades and 2) If he goes overseas and becomes successful and comes into the league next year, every high school kid has a way out now. It’s just like jumping from high school to the pros again. They’re not going to be making millions. They’re going to be making Second Round money – in the $200,000 - $300,000 range for one year (actually those are euros … so that’s probably about $600,000, ha) and then come into the NBA, be a top five pick and get his millions.

I don’t think the language barrier will be a problem. At the end of the day, basketball is basketball. If you understand, “Pass the ball,” or “Shoot the ball,” the rest of that mumbo jumbo he doesn’t have to worry about. Players from America go to play in Europe every year, he’s just going to be a young player going to do it. If he ends up doing it and he turns out fine, I guarantee you’ll see a whole crop of players going from high school to Europe in the future.

And then what happens with the European leagues? They are already signing European players at 12 years old. So what’s going to happen to high school basketball in America if American kids start signing in Europe at 13- or 14-years old? Somebody start doing some research. There are loopholes open and people are climbing through them. But hey, they always say that rules are meant to be broken. The top of the crop always finds a way to do what it needs to do. It’s just like an animal in the wild that knows how to adapt. He adapted to the rules and found a way around it.

Getting Healthy
Right off the plane I went straight to the treadmill and then straight to the gym to work out. Then I came home to my pool to do some swimming.

My knee feels good. It got a little sore on the airplane from the altitude up and down, but now it feels fine. I finally gave it some time off.

I’m just getting ready to get back. I’m getting in shape. I’m just going to start working.

I love the SLAM shoe and all the other GilIIZeros I promoted in Asia. I wish I was healthy this past season to show all the shoes off that came out. A lot of people put a lot of hard work into it and I ended up getting hurt again. I’m going to be responsible this time and take care of my body and get back on the court, and from there, move forward.

I’m not going to play basketball until August. I’m going to go out there and do some basic dribbling and then go back to fundamentals stuff like passing and all that. But I’m not going to do anything jumping wise until August.

Just remember people, if you want to feel like a king and feel like a star, you know where to go: Manila. So, Pauly Shore, after you finish reading this, you head to Manila to jumpstart your career, baby. You’ll be back in the business, baby. You’ll be doing Jury Duty 2 in no time.

Man I am one of your fans and also my dad is your fan

i hope the adidas team with you and billups will have a tour here at manila i cant wait for it. i hope it happens.

Scarface Biography (the greatest and the darkest moments of my school career)

The Nightmares in St John Academy.

I started my schooling back on 1998 at ville st john academy.

I was a lazy person during those days, not making an assignment or courseworks. All i do is piss off teachers. I was not aware of what am i doing. I was able to argue with teachers sometimes. Colliding with them. Those are my horrible moments at the st john academy.

I actually regret those moments honestly it is regretful. I dissapointed my father and my mom. So i dropped out and moved in another school.

That is the place where i met ashley. My pre school mate. And my classmate at st anthony. McCarlo and Tyn, they dont’ know me but they knew me as a rebel and afunny guy, when i was at st john i used to be a sort of a comediane.in able to cheer my classmates up. They knew me as a green joker.

Because some of my jokes are releted to green things.

I felt regretnress, i killed my personality when i collide with my teacher. I apologized to my her and so does to my classmates. Then the next day, i dropped out and moved in another school. In st cyr academy. Another elusive private school in paranaque.

I believe there are ghosts around the campus because before it is a garrison of a japanese imperial army during world war II and a japanese cemetery.

My days in St Cyr Academy

I found my home at st cyr academy along side in dr santos avenue.
I struggled again but in the next days. I finally found my rythm in academics. Ms pantoja thought me of some basics. I passed it. And she said “you are such a good man why did they despised you shame on them” and my father discovered my mental ability.

June 1998 I entered the 1st day of class in my first classroom. 1 Zinnia under Ms Cabunoc, a strict and a talented mentor. I learned a lot from her. I might be a slow learner but i keep on learning to it as long as i have too, english, math science sibika and mape before now it is PE. Math was my pain. Til now, it is still my pain. But when you start learning from it will never be a pain, I struggled with strangers around me. I was tripped by my co bus borders. , there are seniorities I really hate the way they treated me that time. So i decided to commute. In grades 2 3 and 4. I found my self stupid, its like everyone hates me, they tease at me but i stul survived. I proved them “ you can tease at me now but you cannot take away my talent”

I showed to them that i got talent “ I got the highest score in Sibika” 81 over 90 they were humiliated and they applaude at me it was my turning point to be recognized in st cyr.


http://pistonian008.blogspot.com/2008/04/ramon-pascual-institute-batch-2008-i.html


2002 is the best year of my elementary career. I was drafted by st cyr varsity team. I was honored of certificate of merit, yeah i was at the bench all the time, this fuckin asshole john eric arabia laughed at me, so in the next year i joined the tryout and showed to him that i can own his ass on the floor. And shoot hoops. Hustle all the time and block shots. They recognized me as a shot blocker and a aggressive cager.

He got owned, . at that time I am playing with passion thats the name of the game for me.

In foundation day of 2002 I was honored along with pia as the king and queen of heart because i performed at a dance group. I can’t believe i did that. I just did it to make grade 5 win over grade 6 they started liking me.including the most beautiful lady in the higher batch. Wow that was a though year for me. I started doing all things in my way my passion.

That was my memorable moment in my elementary career. Ive ever had it before. Its so remarkable.

I received alot of merits during my elementary days. 4 poster making awards. And 1 from the varsity team.

Awful Years 02 06

In 02 i was about to enter my high school career on Ramon Pascual Institute when the nightmare became true, everyone teases at nem that i am crazty and overrated, i got nowhere to hide just like a lonely turtle who hides his head on its shell. I started covering my ears and ignoring them, i joined the try out. When this kj librarian named juico told me that i cannot be able to play for st cyr anymore because i am at the limit age of 14.

The painful years of my school life had just began. As she said to me, i cannot wear the jersey number 17 in the next PSAP campaign. I got pissed and i quit. And returned as a student just like sano izumi of hana kimi. I was drafted by doria because he sees my improvement at defense offense and in the free throw line. Only the librarian aka my sports coordinator rejects me off the roster. Because im old why that lopez of olivarez wasnt able to be protested, he was older than me

I just quit in her face. “I quit because i want to, no other reasons. I dont belong there. I was right there I am good enough and i got rejected so i was disrespected by that manner. So its a fact that i will not gonna play anymore for the school”

At least i received my honor a year ago that time. I call it a touch down year” that was my year “02”




High School the ups and downs

When i took my dayview at Ramon Pascual Institute, I said to my self im gonna make this as long as there are no shadows of evil around me. Until i saw my former stupid classmates who were popular at school in ways of bostful traits. And cute faces.

I was wrong until i saw joey boy and his gang. With tolibas, dantic. As usual that rumor again got expanded. In the whole 1st year group. That i am crazy and overrated. They crossed the line actually. It became a nightmare for me. So i fought back and seek what are they doing so. I spied at them and tell arcaya about there bad traits.

Non evenless. Thats 1st day i met my 2nd crush. Her name is reena gonzales. Honestly it was a regret. Araki and I knew her as a smart and a humble friend until the day she gets along with joey boy and his taugamma people. She’s changed. She became bostful and overrated. Not anymore that kinda woman i met. I started hating her. And ignoring her and then i focused studying again.

I felt dissapointed in my 1st year. I am trailing the mountain as I call it. I god compared an competed. They disrespected my personality, as i do for other persons. They crossed the line. They are a disrespectful people and so does araki.

araki is a bandwagoner he is sometimes approaching me personal attacks because he is with joey boy. Good for him but for me it is a burden. All people in my classroom are teasing at me, is like a turtle hiding inside the shell.

Tikoh Oblianda is the witness of my ups and downs. I also received a merit of 3rd place at poster making contest in RPI, I never tried out for varsity because I dont like, I dont wanted to be disrespected again.” I dont want a social humiliation just like what ms juico did to me 2 years ago so i turned to a student mode.

For those who pissed at me i apologized to them but there are corrupt and stone hearted people whose gonna keep on mocking at somebody, good thing mr arcaya is there right at me, he calms me down, i felt my self surrounded by angry hostiles. A mob of bully people.

My greatest moment in 1st year is when i won a title with the eagles over the joy warriors. Of mr santos, mr santos have no idea about my nightmares thats why i always catch his rude approach at me, he is a good man a strict teacher but sometimes i got pissed at him because he is a bostful teacher. A taogamma phi member.


Th List of those who disrespected me since grade 6

Librarian ms Juico
John Eric Arabia
John Juhlnie Austria
Joey Boy Llana
Jhorell Lumapas
Christopher Isayas
Mark Kevin Meude
Micheal Macalalad
Enteng Rosario
Mark Renz Dantic
Ruben Sumalinog
Derrick Delos Santos
Christine ann Senillo
Aleta and my traitor friend Miko Ventigan

Those guys you know, they just recieved a karma from me, some of them got rejected out of the school some got kicked out. Because of involving of frat and gang wars. And bringing ciggarettes at school some got dropped out due on personal ways, he was haunted by a policeman with an m16 rifle due on demoralizing the policeman’s son. He went at tondo to hide. Some got pregnant i cursed some of them. They deserved that.

Those maniacs are gone but they will remain as my sworn enemies.

If i were Scarface Tony Montana I will order my men to salvage them, and give money for funeral serviec lol.

When i remember those days i feel like im ready to kill somebody even in the game, if i the player is a maniac I will show him how maniac i am in the game of basketball, they call me sheed, i am a dirty defender, and a bad boy, in ways of nasty shotblocks, thats why i like detroit pistons, i see myself right there. Unmerciful defensive plays.

Imy 2nd year with RPI

Finally I found myself again after the painful2 year sof my school career. I have my best yaer with the neptune sharks, i have my friends there, at that time miko is not yet betraying me, he was my friend along with allen, those guys are my friends gregorio, teruel and tadlas, i thought i can breath a peace air until austra sumalingo meude rosario and their gangs keeps messing around me honestly i was pissed at them they are not true im not stupid abner is also in the list. He uses his friends for safety not as true once.

I led neptune for its title run for 4-2 behind mercury during the intramurals season fo RPI. With the supporting casts allen, rubben austria cruz and me in the middle.

We beat the team that favored to beat II mercury, it is the II venus, i am proud that we beat them, because they were the guys who i am pissed off, my former classmates. Thers the intrams i dont mind what other people tell but watch my game.

I play with heart, passion and pride, like KG of the Boston Celtics. But what is the purpose a teamplay if we will not play as a team, most of my teammates are selfish ballhugs, no unselfish plays only me and allen are doing those unselfish plays we were a all star casts but we didnt do those unselfish plays.

Thats why we lost vs mercury there are no help from behind.

2nd year was my best year i have higher grades in all subjects and in science i receieved 97% due of my clay art. I told her i am a man of my word I will do it i remember the teacher named ms batiles, she is a fine teacher a sassy teacher my english teacher she tought me english well. Ahh i will never forget her. She is one of my finest teachers of all time. Totally she is beautiful, i miss her. And so does my computer mentor mr arnel callado a headcoach of the RPI team now. He is a cool man, but having jokes with us. Cool teacher you’ll gonna laugh at him.

2nd years was the only year i breathe again fresh airs without scumbags around me, these scumbags they were kicked out, also the onlyyear i score 26 points all from the paint in 1 game vs II saturn.

2nd year was the year miko ventigan betrayed me for his taugamma friends, he is changed, he uses his friends for fun. Not for a true one.

I left for London I sind my best wishes to my friend Haniah and her sister and my friend ralph.

I spent 2 years in london in looe. I have my best year there i have a girl there named natalie she kissed me at the lips, because she likes me, she is a sexy lady i also became varsity there for a year.

When i came back i studied at DEPED and passed now Im in Colegio de san juan de letran, studying IT course, so thats all, im glad im having time in my studies unlike before locked up in the room, i never gave up i keep fighting for survival, thats why I was born.

To succeed not to be humiliated an betrayed.

this is my page. about what ive been through during my high school years.