Nerd Stuff

Are you like me? Do you check this site a couple times a day, just to see if Nuss has posted any fresh screeds against Steve Nash, Brent Barry, and other "savvy" ballplayers? Like me, do you get frustrated when you load up the site, only to discover the same dumb post about Chunkstyle's adventures in fast food at the top of the site?

Like me, do you wish there was a quick way to see if anything new has been added to the site without loading up the whole gosh-darn website?

If you are like me, then congratulations, you're a dork! Moreover, your wish has been granted!

The first thing you must do is download and install Mozilla Firefox. Once you've got it running, load up this page. THEN, look for the little orange button at the bottom right corner of the Firefox window, and click on it. A little menu will pop up that reads "Subscribe to Supersonicsoul"--click on that sucker!

What that does is create a sort of uber-bookmark that you can expand to see the most recent posts to the site. Looky there--Mr. Glass is still at the top. But as soon as Webmaster Paul posts his next hi-larious bit of commentary involving Danny Fortson's backside, it will appear, like magic, at the top of the list. Clicking on it will take you directly to that post.

Ain't that a time saver?! This works with a lot of blogs. You may never visit the main page again!

... Okay, I just heard from the Webmaster. He says you should definitely visit the main page as often as possible, and what's more, click on the ads you see there. A lot.

That's it for this week's edition of Nerd Stuff. We now return you to your regularly scheduled jock talk.

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This site NOT sponsored by Mozilla. But, if they wanna kick in for the free iPod, I'll take one of those shiny black ones, please.

Mr. Glass

A lot of love for Reggie Evans in the Seattle papers today; both the PI and Tribune both have pieces on Mr. Glass. And while many on this site (myself included) and throughout the league have criticized Reggie for his – let’s face it – abysmal offense, Bob Weiss seems to have a good thought regarding Evans: highlight what he can do, rather than focus on what he can’t.

Weiss’ idea is to get Evans to become part of Seattle’s new “Showtime” offense (can someone help us with a new nickname? I’m not looking forward to an entire season of hearing the Sonics’ style referred to “like the 1980’s Lakers Showtime...”). In Weiss’ world, Evans would run the break, using his speed to get down the court and finish, a la Jerome Kersey.

While Weiss doesn’t explain the physics of how Reggie can be both a tenacious rebounder and one of the first guys downcourt (seriously, how do you bang on the boards with the singlemindedness of Evans then race ahead of the guys who hang out at the 3-point line?), I like the thought. No, Evans can’t shoot the 17-footer with any consistency, and he’s not smooth in the paint, and his defense is overrated, but he can rebound well and he can run. As a guy getting 15 minutes off the bench, he’s not going to hurt the Sonics.

Omar

With training camp opening on Tuesday, the Sonics have a handful of players unfamiliar to most of us joining such stalwarts as Allen and Lewis. I’ll try to post some follow-ups as camp progesses to fill you on the rest of the unknowns:

OMAR THOMAS – 6’5”, SG, UTEP, 23 years old
Thomas is not much of a 3-point shooter, or at least he was discouraged from taking them at college. Born in Philly (he even went to the same high school as Flip Murray), Thomas overcame an incredibly difficult childhood that saw his father and two brothers imprisoned for murder. ... Averaged 20 points and nearly 7 boards per game for UTEP last year ... A strong player in the paint and a solid foul shooter, Thomas can draw fouls well for a smaller man. ... Thomas was a monster in junior college, averaging close to 35 points over the course of two seasons.

COMPARISON – Damien Wilkins, without as much D and better touch from the line. In fact, if Thomas can play any D at all, I’d rather have him than the Omen any day. It brings up an interesting side-point: How to college stats translate to the NBA? I think, to some degree, they do give us an impression of how a player will fare in the league. For example, at Georgia, Wilkins was a poor outside shooter who improved his foul shooting as his career wore on. In the NBA, Wilkins was/is a poor outside shooter who did very poorly at the line. His extended stats (e.g., steals, rebounds, etc.) also correlate somewhat from the college ranks.

That’s just a long-winded reason from me as to why the Sonics messed up in offering Wilkins a 5-year deal. Guys such as Wilkins – while talented – do not merit long-term deals, especially when there are Omar Thomases in every draft. Considering Wilkins will likely never start for the Sonics (unless Rashard Lewis is hit by a bus or leaves as a free agent), it seems foolish to me for Seattle to give him a long-term deal and thereby hinder their future financial flexibility.