better4worse

Enjoy in great health & and happy holidays !

Arjen Robben Most Underrated Player...But Not For Long...

http://gawker.com/dan-bilzerians-lawyer-re...thre-1576855124 224354441_bilzerianletter.pdf

Best article I found, that deciphers the fight, with decent technical analysis: http://deadspin.com/how-marcos-maidana-alm...ther-1571800209 Some excerpts from the above article in "." along with my $0.02: "....Floyd Mayweather is the world's most masterful boxer, while Marcos Maidana fights like a man who has never boxed before, ever...." Maidana fights like a drunk fighting at a bar, from the technical lens he's a street fighter, plus his defense needs ALOT of work, power is nothing if you can't control it, which is why Floyd won, your 800+ punches Maidana mean nothing if they aren't accurate. These type of fights, keep the sport exciting, no one expected Maidana's overhand right to be this effective, it stunned Floyd, and it may be the key to identifying his achilles heel; keeping him on the ropes, where his impressive leg work and fast combinations do nothing for him, Floyd proved to be weak when fighitng on the inside, he can only win; fighting on the outside. Most boxing analyst, would go far enough to say Maidana is anything but a pro-boxer, he's a brawler, but that may be the secret to beating Floyd, since it goes against his mental hard-wiring (expectations) of where/how he's going to be attacked. But Floyd being Floyd, he does what real winners (in any of life's realms) can do, he adapted, adjusted, tweaked himself, and neutralized the threat. "....The wild and crazy guys are sometimes the hardest for a boxer to handle, because their punches do not come from where they should come from, according to the boxing handbook...." I would enjoy the re-match, no one came closer to beating Floyd than this Argentinian. But doubt Floyd would take that route, too much to risk, too little to gain. Plus I don't feel he deserves it, he scuffled (more than box) and still couldn't win, and even tried to use a horse-hair filled glove, instead of the conforming foam padded glove that is safer (both are approved by the Nevada athletic commission), but both fighters have to agree which glove the opponent uses, and Floyd's camp said "HELL NO". Amir Khan could be a possibility, I respect his fighting spirit, too much ego at times, but enjoyable none the less. Finally, the greatest (Ali) chimed in with a tweet, asking Floyd to face Pacquiao, we can only wish he answers Ali's urge (via his post fight tweet)....http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/post/_/id/10885632/floyd-mayweather-remains-undefeated-boxing-legends-calling-out?ex_cid=espnsoc Great night for boxing, I got my PPV $ worth !

No clue. But since his downfall, he has had serious problems flashing cash in Europe, the infamous Ritz Casino in Mayfair (London) hired a team of PI's and collectors after him, since he stiffed them for a few million pounds in gaming debts and claimed to be insolvent. So even if he still owned anything in Cannes, I suspect it would be incognito.

^^^ You're spot on For anyone interested in further reading of AK, read his unauthorized biography: The Richest Man in the World by Ronald Kessler. It was a fascinating read, this guy lived large, VERY large, he even made the cover of TIME. Some guys around here, might even remember his episode on Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous (Robin Leach), after that series was over, Robin said his best 2 profiles for the show during its run were: AK + Imelda Marcos (both didn't end up too well) But unlike Packer, Hubris brought down AK I hear he's still good friends with George Hamilton, and some spotted him moving around Cannes in the summer via taxi, no longer 3 private jets & dozens of Mercedes stretch limousines ! Hubris, Hubris, Hubris .....

If you're a gambler, and ever find yourself at the Belagio in Vegas, playing the $50 min black-jack tables (or above), odds are high the dealer dealt to Packer. He frequented that casino alot before his death. Some of greatest Packer stories I heard, were from Belagio dealers....They used to call him "Santa Clause" tipping them like crazy, often 5 figure tips regardless if he was up/down, classy/generous was how most described him.

Eric, Enjoyed your posts for years, and I'm happy to hear you're back, and more importantly you're feeling better. I myself had major back problems for many years (and still do to this day), and as you said, pain has the ability to make everything not matter, sucking out the color of any image, is a good way I like to describe it. Nothing helped me through the tough times, more than a positive attitude (more than surgery, meds, physical therapy, dieting, swimming, etc..), and gratitude for the blessings we still have, the ability to do what you still can do: walk, see, speak, type , etc.. Life is precious, and waking up with no (or less) pain than the day before is in itself grounds for a celebration. I have tried the "REGONKINE" transfusion in their US (CA) office (they have a clinic in Santa Monica which I visited, never visited their TX center), I bumped into Kobe in the waiting room last time I was in the clinic a few years ago. Met with their entire team, including Dr. Renna (who is usually in TX office) & the very pleasant/positive Dr. Wehling (who is usually in zee Deutschland). Dr. Wehling may be considered the father of Regenokine. Sadly, at least for me, it did nothing, thus I personally do not recommend going through the stem-cell course, its not as invasive as fusion or a spinal cord simulator, but it did absolutely nothing for me. Reason for sharing this, is to help those seeking help/comfort from back problems, to hear from someone that went through it all, although my results certainly do not rule out it's potential for others, for me it was nothing more than $10K to $15K and 5-10 blood "epidural-type" injections. No 2 people are alike in anything, even responding to different treatment. Think Tylenol's Vs. Advil's effectiveness between you & your spouse for a headache. Welcome back, and keep your head up, pain can be a monster, but a monster you can beat, just like every adversity you take it one day at a time !

Indeed Kerry Packer. It was mentioned in the book: Whale Hunt In The Desert....written by Deke Castleman

Bet he/wifey wish they never sued her... Being cheap bit him in the ass AGAIN. You recall the secret service prostitution fiasco: the hooker that called the cops on an agent in Colombia when they were assigned detail with Obama in 2012, you realize even in that instance, what got them in trouble was being cheap, since the agent in question did not want to pay the ho an extra $50 she was demanding or some measly amount. And told her go f*** your self, and call who ever you want ! It's all relative, and when you're worth over a billion, $1.8M , might be the equivalent of $50 to some young agent. Moral of the story, when you're dealing with fire (Hooker, gold digger that knows alot about you, etc..), don't be a tool, NEVER provoke someone that has less to lose, because you will get burnt, especially when it involves dirty laundry, otherwise this is living-proof there is no end to the depth of malice, an evil women is capable of, when stroked the wrong way. Sterling's caveat was not only that he got Cheap on her and tried to get back what he gave (a big no-no in the gold-digger world), but he probably started treating her like dirt and was condescending, which pushed her to say f*** it I will inflict as much harm as I can ! There is no "Boss" in becoming a globally hated person, that will forever have his legacy (not to mention his family) tarnished. Can you imagine the nightmare his realty co mgmt/staff are currently facing ? Needing to re-brand all his buildings that carry STERLING on its front entrance ? Just drive down Wilshire Blvd, all those buildings' occupants/owners, investors and staff will suffer, his actions went much beyond self destruction, it harmed many innocent people.

No longer his... He since, sold his allocation of this aircraft...this according to Bloomberg: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-14/a...east-firms.html

The most puzzling angle of this story to me, is how the hell did she manage to fleece him out of $1.8, was she THAT good in the sack ? That kind of put everything in motion.. pissed off the wife, filing the lawsuit, that was the catalyst of this psycho gold digger to ruin someone she lived off of very well for a minute or two... Over the years, I heard from countless people that worked for/with Sterling that he was the C in Cheap, in a way that is difficult to describe. One story comes to mind: A friend that owns a car-rental business (mostly high end cars) in Santa Monica, who happens to be a huge Clipper fans for years, tells me he once got a call to his office land-line out of the blue, from the one and only Sterling. He mentioned that he noticed him at the games, and that he had a 18 year old niece or something coming to LA for a few months for an internship, and wanted to get her in to an X5, and wanted to compensate him in the form of season tickets. Although my friend thought this was incredibly strange, for a BILLIONAIRE to call him personally to negotiate such a matter, he obliged mostly to get on his good side, and maybe more perks from the OWNER. A few months later, something miraculous happens, the Clippers start winning... He gets another call from Sterling, this time he says the value of the season tickets he gave him appreciated, therefore they have to re-negotiate the deal, and either get into a better car or he pay him the difference. My friend said he literally felt he was getting punkd, but agreed to swap her car for something higher none the less, this guy is worth over a 1B, and somehow has the time to make these calls, not to mention the time to negotiate it after wards !!! Call me awful, but I always believed that being Super Cheap was an indicator of a character flaw, no stingy person I know gets much respect, good service, or very far in anything, even doing business requires some leniency here and there at least until a certain point. But this cheapness is often magnified when someone already reaches certain success, and no longer feels they need to give a damm. Buddies of mine stay at his hotel in BH (Beverly Hills Plaza Hotel) when in town, have some great staff that jokingly make fun of their owner (back then saying: Clippers never win because the owner is too stingy to get better staff/players), and a few staff privately say (when asked) he's a cheap bastard, that is rude. This story only confirmed all that I heard that he was POS racist piece of crap. Which takes us back to the puzzle, this type of person does not just give $1.8M to a sugar-baby, she must have REALLY tickled his pickle. But that said, no person should be under a witch-hunt based on a unlawful recorded private conversation, especially when it was MALICIOUSLY Gotcha-orchestrated by a bitter washed up over-the-hill gold digger that was out for revenge. He will NEVER sell, even if it means he litigates until his death, he's an 80 year old billionaire, he has nothing to lose by standing defiant, and let's not forget he knows a thing or two about law. Elison, Oprah, Magic, Mayweather, and the endless ppl that want to be the DJANGO UNCHAINED of the clippers Candy-Land, take a chill pill, this is going to be a loooooooooooooooong fight.

No doubt Showtime is gonna drop the hammer on Mayweather if the PPV numbers disappoint (this seems to be the belief on his upcoming fight) because his opponent is solid, but not exactly prize-fight material. With Manny's recent win, its only fueling the fire of the last few years, that the Manny/Floyd fight is what the fans want. People are not gonna pay top dollar to watch a lame fight, they want the excitement of a reasonably matched fight, with the suspense that keeps the sports-book handicappers on their toes, and keeps the MGM buzzing & happy. Every one involved would make serious $, and that has a funny way of swaying people's opinion, and place serious pressure on Floyd to agree. 2 or 3 fight left in his Showtime contract (if I'm not mistaken), most think that he will leave the last fight for Pacman, I hope that's the case, that would be a fight I will attend ! Broner got humbled, Floyd might follow, unlikely as it is, that's what makes Boxing one of my favorite sports, you really never know, especially when its at this "top of the mountain" level !

I think the reason this car is fetching the range it has (just from reading the ad): - LWB (long wheel base) , which is not standard and quite scarce , ordering it from a dealer will probably have the buyer wait about 8-12 months, so that extra amount could be the "opportunity cost" of not waiting. - It states "protection package" which makes me think it has the bullet proof package (or partial package) like stronger than normal windows. Not speaking from knowledge , just speculating. I have seen people pay up to 160 to 175 for autobiography , and most of those buyers send the cars to Russia and elsewhere , to profit 20-30 grand from the export.

Never understood messing with perfection... standard body SLR plz...different strokes I guess. But I'm digging that color

Gonna give this a try....that's hilarious

Similarly, this guy reminds me of a douche I once encountered in Miami in the mid 2000's, they said he was a restaurant owner from Maryland. That guy drove the big cars, private jets, stable of hookers, was throwing around the f*#k you money, but something was off... My buddy who's a hotel manager in South Beach was telling me the hotel staff were talking about this guy non-stop, and how he was giving $1000 tips to anyone that said Hi to him during his stay, but the story that got traction was: during a busy time of the year in South Beach, he told the owner of Mansion nightclub to change the music, which was a silly request, the owner said for $200K he would comply, and he actually paid it to impress the hanger on chicks he had with him. Funny how the truth comes out sooner or later...turns out he cheated banks out of $71 million, and I was told he even faked his own death, but ultimately was caught and is serving time ! His story, a great candidate for CNBC's American Greed: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...0082704661.html These type of dodgy characters come and go in every major City, and if you've been around long enough it doesn't take NASA training to spot them, but with IG and social media the "act", "con" or plain "Dochiness" is amplified to a global audience. 100%

Been following this guy on IG for a while, and like most people I find him entertaining. On the website TheDirty.com he's known as "fake equis", seems to be a fun character to hate ! He was among the poker players involved with ponzi-schemer Bradley Ruderman , in the Hollywood high stake poker circle (tobey macquire, Maaaaatttt Daaaaamuuun, etc..), going far enough as to call Tobey as a cheap person to some outlet, all to widen his craving for attention and fame. Speaking of fame how many actors do you know, "lend" producers of a motion picture $1,000,000 dollars in exchange for at least 8 minutes of screen time, then sue them when he only get 30 seconds of screen time ? Poker sure must pay well. Story of the lawsuit when his movie role shrunk, and he got the Hollywood royal f*#king. The movie industry is known to do this type of stuff with eager cash cows that want to buy themselves into fame: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/a...roducers-616876 Surely he gets credit for being able to cement the reality that no studio, agent or producer would touch this guy with a 10 foot pole. Stories of his gambling in my opinion are nothing more than a smoke-screen over the reality that he's a spoiled kid spending his dad's money (which was infamously associated with illegal practices), not that I have an issue with that, to each his own. Even though he may really be a decent poker player, winning the world series of poker in 2009 didn't come by coincidence, but being the best poker player on earth does not and cannot justify the spending that he claims "he made". He currently lives in a $40K to $50K a month house in the hills, again not something your average poker player can afford, even the tournament legends cannot keep up that type of lease, makes you think who really pays the bills.... Over the years I've come across a few guys that lived similar to this lifestyle, and the great majority either end up in jail (ends being some fraud or scam), or if they really come from wealth they end up dropping dead in a nightclub's bathroom stall. Of course this guy has no shame boasting about his steroid/drug usage; so his shelf life will probably adjust accordingly. One cannot deny he succeeded staying relevant even if for 15 minutes, discussing him here attests to him being at least "gossip" worthy for the moment. Best of luck to him, he might even be a nice guy under all that steroids, drugs and hookers he surrounds himself with.

RIP...especially tragic that his family/friends have videos and pictures of the accident and the final moments before his death on the net, that makes it 1000X more painful. I can't help but think this car has some bad omen related to it, its known as the: Widow Maker. This accident will be fresh on my mind if I ever consider picking up a Carrera GT, just too much of a coincidence to be ALL driver's errors. Be safe, never speed on public roads, and think of your family when you get the itch to tell your passenger "...check this out..."

Women are attracted and drawn to (ascending order): - Talent: magicians and musicians who are not necessarily as big Copperfield or Kobe fall into this category, but in their own circles this type of fella gets his fair share of female attention, just walk into any guitar center and you'll see a dweeb holding a guitar having arm candy that will make have you: you-tubing "guitar lessons". - Financial Success: could own a bunch of burger kings, but drives a nice car owns a sick house and lives large and bam he gets decent tail, none the less he might still be a boring pathetic geek that needs to flash his centurion card to get laid. - Power: this can be interpreted in different ways, but anything from a politician to a studio head, police commissioner to a night club owner, this type of guy has him own type of groupies, and his authority is a turn on to some women. - Looks: If your genes have you looking like Brad Pitt, no amount of $ or influence or power can really compete, because the physical attraction is simply overbearing on all else....except.... Now the drum role... - Fame: from real life experiences of people I know that are high profile (and this could be anything from a musician, actor to a local news anchor), Fame has a power on women that is undeniable and often incomparable to other factors above. Of course the interesting part is that most of the time (not always), by one being famous they are wealthy and powerful, and if you also happen to be good looking then your holding the royal flush. Sorry if I side tracked on the main topic, and how the above can effect an existing relationship, especially if your significant other has been with you before you started gaining popularity or real success. Just always ask yourself if I was struck with a horrible illness that required someone to take care of me, would your GF or wife be that person ? Its pretty easy to hang around and fall in "BS" love when things are good, but will that person be around when things get dim ? Food for thought. "you are only wealthy when you have things $ can't buy" -Just my $0.02

What a class act ! Hammond is a champ

Mostly water, the "legal" use of sodium pills, and other kidney destroying methods are tools athletes use to make weight across the board. Love him or hate him, Mayweather remains the best boxer in his weight class today, so calculating, so fast, so adaptable. Canelo fought his best, but his best wasn't good enough, even he admitted in a post-fight interview: I couldn't catch him. That's why such a low % of his power shots connected. Next Money fight in May, could it be Garcia ? ESPN reporting Money's payday (thought to be $41M purse) could actually be closer to $100M with the PPV target incentives, being a resident of Nevada with their low taxes, I would say he had a good Saturday !

Can't think of the CGT without thinking of this clip CGT Drift on Public Road Oh and its white too !

PAC-MAN

Accurate reading Mako. The odds are surprising to many fans, Mayweather has not had such odds/lines in a while, for those that like to bet on sports, this might be an opportunity to double-down if you think Floyd can keep that shoulder-roll long enough to sneak in a few power punches to win by decision. Canello is no push over, he has alot to lose and whole lot of speed/power, but let's not forget Mayweather screens his opponents very carefully , and he might prove predictable and out-maneuverable for "Money" ! I doubt Golden Boy will beat the PPV records broken during the Maywehater Vs. De La Hoya fight, yet with the Showtime/CBS "jump" anything is possible, by the opinion of most; they have a marketing reach beyond what HBO was capable of (not to mention CBS CEO Les Moonves, a boxing aficionado cooked the historic Mayweather-Showtime marriage with his "blessing" stemming from his love of the sport), which keeps the promotion rivalry healthy for boxing as a sport, something I'm pleased with as a boxing fan. Finally, as others have mentioned, the real wild card will be Danny Garcia vs. Lucas Matthysse, pay attention to this one. Gonna be a fun Saturday night