Wednesday, October 5, 2022
Disanting Opinion
Sunday, September 11, 2022
Not So Jolly Rodgers
The athletes asking for huge paychecks saying they "just want to win" are either lying to themselves or they don't understand how a team works. Let's put on our captain obvious hat for a second and give you the play breakdown for the finances of a football team. NFL teams can have 53 players on a regular season roster with 48 suiting up for the game. Lets say we round it to 50 for easy numbers. We have to keep it simple because we're about as smart as the average football player with 4 concussions.
The 2022 salary cap for the NFL is $208 million. 208/50 = 4.16 million. So if you paid out the full $208 million (which most teams dont) and paid all the players equally (which no teams do) each player would get $4.16 million for the 2022 year. It does seem to be the case that there are better players than others which means some players will be paid higher or lower dependent on their skills. What do you think happens when a single player gets 10x that amount? (Of course we realize teams can go over the cap and some do, but this adds other significant costs to the financial puzzle.)
There are no doubts that the highest paid athletes are usually some of the very best. Lets take Aaron Rodgers for instance. The 2021 MVP of the NFL. Who signed a new contract to be paid $42 million dollars for 2022 ($59 million for 2023!). (Thats right he is paid 10x what the team average would be for full salary cap spend) Rodgers now makes 20% of the entire team payroll. If one player makes 20% that leaves 80% for the other 52 players. This takes that average salary for the rest of the team down to $3.19 million. Remember skill and compensation are linked. What if for instance that Rodgers gets hurt? That is the financial equivalent of 10 players getting injured at the same time. If a team had 10 injuries in a game we think they would have a difficult time competing.
Rodgers had some off season criticism for some of the talent left around him. Weird. It is almost like they paid him so much they couldnt afford anyone else. The addition of logic to this party just does not calculate.
The obvious problems is that money doesnt necessarily lead to wins. (it does seem to help if you spend it properly though, especially in baseball) Why is that? Could it be because of overpaying for talent? It looks like you are trying to win and it sure feels good for the fans when you have "that player" on your team. When that player leads you to a #1 seed for the playoffs it feels even better. But when the team gets knocked out of the playoffs in the first round... it seems a little less gratifying having "that player" on your team.
We are not saying that the best most talented athletes shouldnt get paid. They should. But we're not sure they understand the relationship of their impact to their team finances. Every dollar the star gets is a dollar that doesnt go to another good player that could play on your team. If you are the star player (good for you) and you really want to win there are a couple options to put that money to work.
1. Take a lower salary in return for a guarantee the team will use the money you would have gotten to attract other talented players that can help you win. 2. Take your maximum salary possible then give your own money towards other talented players on the team. Have you ever heard of a quarterback offering financial compensation to their own teammates to incentivize play? (We're not talking about like buying the O-Line a steak dinner if you dont get sacked) We're talking about actual cash bonuses. Like $500,000 if you catch 10 TD's. Have you heard of a quarterback wanting to win so bad he gives $1 million of his own money to another player on his team? Do you think the other players would play harder for the team? How about an Aaron Rodgers team bonus pool? You really wanna win? Take $10 million of your own salary (yea tough year when you make only $32 mill instead of $42 mill) and put it in a team bonus pool based on whatever incentives you think are important to the team. It could simply be a hard practice gets a rookie $5,000. Run this out rout properly 10 times and there's a bonus. Some of the veterans might not respond to 10 or 20 thousand but we bet some of the rookies would.
3. Feel good about being the highest paid player. Screw the team and bank cash until you can buy yourself an island. Who really wants to win a stupid game anyways? Its not like the fans judge success by wins and losses. Its all about the 0's in the bank. Just ask Tom Brady.
Wednesday, August 17, 2022
If you build it...
Sunday, July 24, 2022
Liv by the Par
The tour prides itself on hosting the best golf competitions for the best players in the world. {Although the actual top 3 tournaments are not hosted by the PGA tour: The Masters, US Open and The Open} For a company that prides itself on competitions, the PGA is not very enthusiastic about participating in a competition of their own. What do they say about pride again?
The PGA hasn't had a competition for talent. They have run all the best games in town for a long time but the talent is starting to be chipped away by the large purse strings of the black gold nation. Some of the top ranked players in the world have joined LIV for multi-million dollar signing bonuses. Signing bonuses; you know those contracts athletes get in pretty much every other professional sports league. The PGA is against signing bonuses because... well we don't know why. We assume it has to do with their ideals of only paying based on the players performance for the week because that's how they've done it for nearly 100 years. We respect that "if it ain't broke" attitude but many players don't seem to feel the same way. The LIV golf tour now has more than 15 of the top 100 golfers playing for them. That means it might not be broke yet but the "check engine" light is on and you may want to take a look under the hood.
Many of the players who joined LIV golf resigned their memberships to the PGA tour. The PGA's response was to immediately suspend them. That's right, you cant quit because you're all fired. Or, you cant fire us because we quit? We don't know which chicken laid this egg first but the PGA is scrambling. They upped the purses in several events because the way to put fires out is to pour money on it. They also changed the season schedule and reduced some field sizes to boost prize money. Looks like they hit the ball into the water off the 1st tee and it is costing them more than just a couple strokes.
Why did this happen? That is what the PGA should be asking. They're probably not because we thinks, it thinks, it already knows. Can't learn something you think you already know. If you are looking for a reason why any company is successful you have to look at the management. Who is the the man at the top of the PGA? Mr. Jay Monahan. In 2019 he earned $5,378,295 as commissioner of the PGA tour. This put him in 8th place on the tour money list for 2019 just behind Dustin Johnson at $5.5 million. (Of course this didnt include the $3,466,390 that Monahan also got from "related organizations." That would have put him closer to the #1 spot on the money list.) For a salary like that we think he probably is tournament tested. He does have a degree in history so maybe he knows all the things that are doomed to repeat themselves. Although he is probably human though, so even if he knows the past he might not be able to prevent the future disaster. Is he the right person for the job?
What could be the reason to even go LIV golf? Money. Plane and simple? Fly around the world in private jets to play golf for guaranteed money. Sounds pretty sweet but we think there could be more pieces to the puzzle. Maybe a piece is that playing for a paycheck is stressful. Weird to think that a player may not be thrilled about traveling to a new destination every week with no guarantee of being paid. Add to that if you don't do well this season you will get your status dropped by the PGA and have to restart that mini tour grind all over again. Oh and those tournaments are the same structure except if you do actually manage to make the cut the paychecks are much smaller. Who wouldn't love a constant stress and anxiety of worrying where their next paycheck will come from? (We can actually answer that... no one. No one likes worrying if they are going to get a paycheck or not. That sounds terrible.)
What do golf fans really want to see? Do golf fans really care about guaranteed money? We are golf fans here and we have to be honest... we don't care about the players paychecks or that they "earned" it by playing well. We care about seeing our favorite players in person hitting amazing shots. Good golf is inherently boring. Hit fairway, hit green, make putt, repeat. We'd like to see it get spiced up a bit. Where is the fun? Maybe have NFL linebackers tackling you in the middle of your swing. We'd watch that. Ok, maybe that's too aggressive.
Let's pitch you a couple ideas. Change the format. (Yes, that is what LIV golf is doing) The important thing is to make it fun for players and viewers. Especially on the last day of a stroke play event. There is usually only a hand full of players in contention to actually win but there are likely to be 60+ other players on the course. Winning is fun! What do we suggest? If you are going to have a normal stroke play event, have other prizes throughout the round. How about a closest to the pin on all the par 3's for $10,000 plus $10,000 donated to that players favorite charity. You claim to be a nonprofit... Why not show the fans everyday you play you and the players are contributing to charity? How about a long drive on the front and back 9? The leaders might not try hard on these but we guarantee the players out of contention will. Why? Because its fun to try to win something. (especially if its money) How about a shot of the day? The PGA picks 4 of the top shots and has a fan vote on their mobile app. This drives fan engagement. This drives revenue because you have sponsorship for the long drive, closest to the pin, and shot of the day. This drives player engagement because they can still win something without winning the tournament. Sounds more fun, right?
When you have a disruptor in the market (LIV) it is time to get creative. Do not sit, stroke your ego, and let your pride beat you. The PGA has a lot of pride in itself and we all know what they say.... "We're here! We're queer!" Wait, that's not the pride we're talking about... We're talking about pride as the deadliest of all sins because it leads to all other sins. Pride is delusional, spiteful, and bitter. Thankfully the PGA tour hasn't shown any of those symptoms...
#LIV Golf... Or Die trying
#LIV Golf or do something actually fun
#LIV Golf we kill for birdies
#LIV Golf Check out our new Sportswash
Make your decision and LIV with it
special deLIVery
Thursday, July 7, 2022
Right to Bare Arms
A new mass shooting seems to be happening nearly everyday and the debate on actual gun control has been under fire. Both sides of the isle have been taking aim at solutions but we're gonna shoot it to ya straight. There are some democrats that propose taking all guns away from all people. Sounds doable. (insert sarcastic eyeroll) There are some Republicans that propose to give more guns to everyone. Seriously, its about time your baby learned to defend itself. Ted Cruz was reported as saying "have you ever seen a baby get kidnapped that had a gun? Of course not. Then, why are we not arming our children?" As usual Cruz has no flaws in his impeccable logic. Cruz did not actually say that but try not hear his voice in that statement. Seriously, we can see Ted Cruz in a town hall meeting with a straight face ask "why are we not arming our children?" Then look at everyone in the crowd like they are the insane ones.
Americans link their freedom with guns. We fought for our freedom with guns so we must use them to maintain that freedom. Guns are power and with that power you can control and defend your freedom. Of course, you can also control and defend your tyranny. So, choose wisely friend. Dang y'all. No uns ever be understandin a coin havin two sides in all. That really gums up the ol' freedom rifle from shootin straight. Who'd a thunk it?
Republicans use the claim that the guns are not the problem. That taking away guns and/or controlling guns is not the answer. Then, what is the problem and/or solution? Please enlighten us. The people? Brilliant... take away the people and the guns cant shoot anyone. That idea cant miss. Mental illness? Turns out our human brains do often get in the way of nearly every smart decision we've ever tried to make, but it is very likely that most people who shoot themselves or others is suffering from short or long term mental distress. Not enough people with guns? Is that a real problem? We've never had a gun but still have problems. Sounds like a conundrum... Guns: The solution to and cause of all the worlds problems.
Both democrats and republicans have put forth very not insane ideas that are readily and easily accomplishable. Wait... that doesn't sound like our government... Reload. Both sides will argue extremes for an extended period of time before coming to an agreement that has no immediate or noticeable effect. Bullseye. As usual we tend to think outside the range. We say that we give guns to everyone then immediately take them away. Nothing hurts more than loss and this way everyone feels like a loser. Try to shoot down that logic.
The bottom line is the news does a great job of bringing to lite the mass shootings happening all around the United States because it gets your attention. (That is the news' goal, getting your attention) The unfortunate truth is that a person is more likely to use a gun to kill themselves than to kill someone else. 54% of all gun related deaths are suicides but we don't hear about those deaths. We don't hear about the depressed family member who took their own life because they incorrectly assumed the lives of everyone around them would be better without them. Those deaths aren't on the news. Those deaths are at home. Those deaths stay at home and never go away. Those deaths are quiet and sad, and leave behind exactly that in their wake. They leave behind the ones left crying as they scrub endlessly in an effort to get the blood out of the floor. It wont come out no matter how long you scrub or how much bleach you use. That blood stains forever. Even when they are washed away and covered up with a rug. The blood is there in the form of regret, anger, and confusion. A reminder of warning signs ignored. A realization that the person you love was too afraid to ask for help. A confrontation that in a moment of doubt, fear, loathing and unimaginable hurt they made the easy choice. Instead of turning to you for help and having the hardest conversation a human can have with another they took the easy way out. They grabbed that gun in the top dresser drawer and made all the pain go away in an instant. But the blood stays behind. We could have stopped this if only... if only there wasn't a gun in the house.
If you are or you know someone struggling with thoughts of suicide, you are not alone. We all have moments of weakness but you have to take the first step to helping yourself. Talk to someone you love but if you cant do that... Please use these resources: Things will get better.
Suicide Help Line
800-273-8255
Friday, April 29, 2022
Returning Back for the First Time
Why should you read this blog? You probably shouldn't.
However, there is a small chance you get some enjoyment out of its ridiculousness. Here at gopunme.com our goal is to give ourselves entertainment by writing things. It is possible you may get some entertainment value as well. There may be a message or theme that involved some sort of intellectual thought or consideration. This chance is putt putt golf. (miniature) and the likely hood of you thinking we thought is shaquille O'neil on Uber Eats. (A tall order) We are more than just puns of fun.
What will we do? We will explain our jokes because having to explain things is what makes them funny. (even we rolled our eyes writing that) We will make up things usefull and useless of things you already know. We will re lie on our shelves to hold us up to some absurd standards. We will ch eat our words at times. We will have poor insta grammer pictures. We will read our face books by their covers. We wont be great at media socially. We will be social with the encyclopedia. You can trust that things will not be true. It will be true that things will be false. The lessons will be jelly donuts. (come from the inside and just by looking at it you're not quite sure its in there) The lesson you may learn is to not read this blog, but you've already come so far... plus, you cant unread whats already turned you red. Sucker. Just kidding you should come back because you're not a quitter. Or are you? If you do keep reading you will prove us wrong about you and for that we commend you. Way to go, you!
*Please be warned reading this blog may cause: uncontrollable fits of rage, diarrhea of the mouth, blurred vision, complete misunderstandings, and extreme eye rolling. Most common side effects reported were: leaving absurd comments, peeing your pants, wait gain, lost appetite, found confusion, and a total eclipse of the heart.
Thursday, April 7, 2022
Back to Bases
This marks the end of the pitch hitting era in baseball. Wait, we mean pitchers hitting era, right? (We hope someone makes contact with the baseball this year.) This era has established without any doubts; if you pitch, you cannot hit. This idea has been continually reinforced early on in a players career because it is physically impossible to throw the ball very fast and use that same arm in a swinging motion to hit a baseball very far. Some say the motions are very similar but it is not true. You throw or you hit because the physics and biomechanics simply don't allow for both. It has been proven if you try to do both; you will not make it to the Major Leagues and no one will know who you are. Seriously, have you ever heard of Babe Ruth or Shohei Ohtani? Unlikely. They are nobodies and have proved it with their stats. Last year Shohei only hit 46 bombs with 100 RBI's as a hitter. As a pitcher he only struck out 156 batters and hit over 100 mph on the gun on his way to AL MVP. Babe Ruth only hit 714 home runs with a lifetime era of 2.28 and is widely considered to be one of the best players of all time. Now, some may consider these accomplishments as "impressive," because they irrefutably are, but they shouldn't. We established earlier about the preconceived notion that one person can not possess the ability to do both things well. The numbers, physical proof, and data do not matter. It is the traditional ideas that have been founded with years of ignorance that matter to the game. Any evidence to the contrary of those ideas should be completely ignored. The perpetuation of stereotypes should continue starting at a young age and percolate onward. Keeping things the way they are makes them better. That is the way. Or, maybe there is an entire talent pool of players abilities that scouts, coaches, and the game is missing out on? Nah, that doesn't seem right. The arm physical limitation thing definitely sounds right and not at all idiotic so, lets stick with that.
Sunday, March 27, 2022
Time for Change
The future change could be sooner than we thought while also being years behind schedule. (sounds like government in action.) With the Sunshine Protection Act congress voted unanimously to put a shield around the sun in order to protect it from burning out. They call this burning out of the sun: Sun Burn. Congress said it is very important to protect the sun at all costs because "it is hot and we think it may have some effects on plant growth." said Senator Mitch McConnell. (Impressive words from the guy with 3 double letters in his last name alone.) He continued: "The sun is running out of fuel and may only have a couple billion years left so we need to protect it from not only sun burn but, black holes and space mining." Ok those aren't real quotes and the bill only has to do with clock time and will not be affecting the space time continuum. (probably, but we will consult Doc Brown just to make sure.) We're clocking in on this bill but many don't think its such a bright idea. It would create a new problem of the darkness in the morning being a problem for anyone waking up before the sun. This issue can be combated by changing the schedules of things like school and work. Although, that sounds a lot like change and we've heard that can be annoying. Or, maybe its just the amount of times we said change that's annoying... Whichever side of the dial you're on it makes sense to stop moving the clocks. Until then we will all keep moving slowly into the future.
We're only a DeLorean, a Flux Capacitor, and 88 mph away from the future. If you leave now, maybe you can meet us there.
Monday, July 26, 2021
Cleveland just cant Windians
Thursday, April 22, 2021
Happy BEarth Day
Coming soon to The Universes version of Cops: After years of abuse Earth finally had enough, and as you'll see in this next video clip She decided to set Herself on fire (or did She?). (Insert video of fictional event) The Universal Fire Department shows up but its too late. They can only put out the fried corpses. (I bet it will smell like bacon with how fat we've become off of our overabundant use of Her natural resources). The Earth will be explaining to the UPD (Universal Police Department) how we've been abusing Her for hundreds of years and oddly enough the Humans just decided to set themselves on fire. Human Doe got drunk and didnt call, just one too many times. Humans shoulda just stopped killing Her damn flowers to show that they care just a little bit. Instead Humans just put the trash wherever the hell they damn well please and used that oil stove top to smoke the dinner again, without cleaning up. Besides cleaning up is Her job. She kept telling you Humans. She turned the thermostat up and down, started getting rid of some of your friends, started letting some of those things you used to like to eat and drink just disappear. Its not omniscience. It should have been obvious to you Humans its time to start taking some responsibility. Maybe just clean up a little bit before the guests come over. Or, just use the sun power stove to cook. Just do some of the simple things. A little appreciation and telling Her how pretty She looks once and a while could go a long way. (Some of those natural wonders took millions of years to make!) Just do something, anything that shows how much you appreciate Her because in the end... She will be fine. She will burn the Humans down. Tell the police they set themselves on fire and they'll believe Her because She's been around a long time and knows all the ways to get out of trouble. It might be hard for Her at first but eventually She'll realize, She can be happy all by Herself.
#EarthDay #BearthDay #GoPunMe
Sunday, January 31, 2021
Lid Slams on the Trumpster
President elects have aspirations of changing the nation and the world by imposing the values they believe in. Much like the teenager with aspirations of being a professional baseball player, those dreams soon get tossed in the real world dumpster. We understand how the Trumpinator feels, it is difficult when you are forced to give up on your dreams... Unfortunately, sometimes you just cant hit a curveball. At its best, the "revolutionary" Trump regime was a whiny, nagging toddler. At its worst, it spewed flaming hot garbage onto anything that would pay attention to it. This Trumpster fire has been burning for four years and its time to put a lid on it. If you have just woken up from a coma, you will find the country in similar shape to the end of most presidential terms. Little changed. (policy wise, but mask wise its a huge change) Despite all the drama the president loves to stir up (the need to stir up drama may come from a lack of love and affection in his personal life but we do not know the former president and we prefer, unlike him, to not speak on things we do not know of) (Although, we do hint them loudly) Despite his efforts in explaining how great he is, the pandemic has brought about way more significant changes than that of the White House. It is odd to say but, do you think the former president was jealous of the Coronavirus? Is that why it was so hard for him to take actions? Sure he stirred up drama in pretty much everything that he touched, but fortunately he isnt that interested in touching things (that dont make him a sexual predator). We would consider him the opposite of a Teddy Roosevelt. He loved to talk loudly but preferred not to even carry a stick (he didnt like the way it looked with his hair). While many of his predecessors preferred playing chess while presiding in the presidential palace, this president chose to play Monopoly. Saying quote "I dont know what the players do in chess but that horsey guy looks cool. I prefer Monopoly because I like to roll the dice and see what happens and I like to drive the car real fast around the board." We asked how he takes it if he loses the game? "I cant lose, if bad things happen I just flip the game board over, and yell at everyone that they cheated as I stomp away. It works every time!" (not real quotes) We guess there are techniques to have it both ways. Be an a$$. Being an a$$ allows you to take all credit for wins and zero responsibility for loses. It's great. Egomania never loses. "Wherever I go, Egos."
We are trying to figure out what would be worse for an egomaniac: Thinking your the most important person in the world and never being promoted to that position, or realizing that you spent four years as the most powerful person in the world and nothing changed? Of course, we doubt the former president has the ability to reflect on his loop without an unconscious ego bias but maybe he will tell us in his book. Coming December 2021: "You're Welcome America: How I made America Great in only 4 Years" By Donald J. Trump
Other President Trump Book Names for Consideration:
I'm Great, so is America
You're Welcome America
2 Impeachable
Presidency Made Easy
Grabbed America by the P_$$%
Pay Attention To Me!
How to make millions selling Hats.
What a president does? I still dont know.
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