Author: John Paulsen (Page 542 of 937)

A new term for someone who marries way up

From Bill Simmons’ March mailbag, part two

Q: So a few of us were talking at lunch today and one of my co-workers was telling a story about a male friend who got engaged to someone completely out of his league but phrased it as, “He Marko Jaric’d this girl.” I loved the phrase. Why can’t it be used forever to describe this type of situation?
— Jimmy, Emmaus, Pa.

SG: The readers are on fire! Somebody alert the editors of urbandictionary.com that the world is being altered. My favorite movie example: Mikey getting Heather Graham in “Swingers.” Favorite TV example: The marriage in every ABC sitcom. Favorite celebrity example: Lyle Lovett getting Julia Roberts in her prime. Favorite multi-platform example: Turtle landing Meadow Soprano on “Entourage” and in real life. We all have a friend who Marko Jaric’d his girlfriend or wife, but I think there are three levels to the phenomenon:

Level 1: Just a pure Marko Jaric-ing. Your buddy can’t believe he pulled it off, neither can anyone else, and nobody is even jealous of him.

Level 2: He Marko Jaric’d her to the degree that, when he’s not around, his other friends talk about it incessantly and come up with rationalizations like, “Do you think her last boyfriend mistreated her in some way and she was ready for anyone?” or “Is he built like a camera tripod and he never told us?” There’s no answer. Just conjecture.

Level 3: The best of the levels, since this involves the buddies being so flummoxed by the relationship that they tease the girl to her face about being Marko Jaric’d — all good-natured stuff like, “Thanks for your ongoing charity with our friend” and “Do you realize you helped our friend overachieve for the first time in his life?” FYI: This can get dangerous if the wrong person is doing it after too many drinks. Regardless, I’m just glad Jaric finally made his mark in something. He was due.

The only pitfall I see with this is that Marko Jaric is rich — filthy rich. He has already made almost $29 million in his career and he’s guaranteed another $14.7 million over the next two years. Assuming he hasn’t blown much of that on coke and whores, he should be sitting pretty, financially speaking.

But Lima is no slouch either. She was #4 on Forbes’ list of the Top Earning Models in 2007 and 2008, making a combined $13 million over that span. So her salary equals that of her betrothed.

Given that the financial part of it is a push, it’s no different than if Jaric landed Lima had they met while working for $10.25 an hour at the Home Depot. She is out of his league in both situations.

So I approve — when one of your buddies engages or marries a girl that is out of his league, it’s okay to say that he “Marko Jaric’d” her.

Be sure to check out Women We Love: Adriana Lima.

Tim Floyd turns down Arizona job

So much for those reports that had Tim Floyd packing his bags for Arizona. He has decided to stay at USC.

Floyd announced his decision in a meeting with reporters in Los Angeles Thursday afternoon. Floyd said he not only visited Arizona but also spoke to Memphis about its opening.

“I felt that I needed to look at those two programs,” Floyd told reporters on Thursday. “I am at a point where I want to do something really special and I feel like I needed to go look at an elite program.

“But there is something really special about building your own traditions, your own histories and doing it with a group of guys that you love. … I have never been more excited to be a Trojan.”

Floyd said his contract at USC remains unchanged.

“I have three years left on my contract,” he said. “No, there have not been any changes made that I am aware of. I would like another year or two. I think that would be great. I would like for this to be my last job.”

Floyd has done a nice job at USC, which is why Arizona wanted him in the first place. He has guided the Trojans to three straight NCAA appearances and three straight 20+ win seasons. The next step for the program is to crack the Elite Eight or Final Four.

So which direction does Arizona go now that Floyd has publicly turned down the job?

Iverson would “retire” before coming off the bench again

It’s safe to say that the Chauncey Billups-for-Allen Iverson trade hasn’t worked out very well for the 2008-09 Detroit Pistons. The team is 36-39 and is just two games ahead of the 9th place Charlotte Bobcats. The two teams play on Sunday in Detroit, and if the Bobcats can pull out a win, they will be very much in the thick of a playoff spot, meaning that the Pistons could miss the postseason for the first time in…well…forever. (Meanwhile, Billups’ Nuggets are in second place in the West and have won nine of their last 10 games. And Chauncey gets to look at “Bouncing Bridget” every time the Nuggets play a home game.)

Iverson has been fighting a sore back and shin, and the Pistons have elected to use him off the bench for the last three games. During that span, he’s averaging 18.7 minutes, 7.7 points (on 36% shooting) and 2.7 assists. And he’s none too happy about his playing time.

Reporter: You made a comment the other day about how this is a temporary situation. What did you mean by that?

Iverson: I won’t do this again, in my career. I’ll retire before I do this again. I would leave the game before I do this. I can’t be effective like I know I can playing this way. It’s just that I’m not used to it. Just not something I’ve had to do. Like I said, it’s hard for me mentally and physically.

Reporter: So, on a positive note, what can you say about guys coming off the bench?

Iverson: Like I said. I take my hat off to the guys that can do it. And some guys get used to it. They’ve done it before. Like I said, I’ve been playing basketball since I was eight-years-old, and I never had to do it. At 33-years-old, to have to adjust to something like that it’s kind of tough. That’s something I’m dealing with as far as my rhythm, my timing and like I said, the mental part of that.

With the trade, Joe Dumars gave the team a ton of flexibility to rebuild over the next couple of years, but he really sunk these 2008-09 Pistons. With Billups on the roster, they’d be a top 4 team in the East, and with the injuries to Boston’s Kevin Garnett and Orlando’s Jameer Nelson, they’d have a legitimate shot at being the second-best team in the conference. Is that enough?

I don’t know — one injury to LeBron and suddenly the Pistons would be first in line to go the Finals. That seems like a good thing, right?

Only time will tell what kind of free agents Dumars will be able to attract over the next couple of summers. Then we’ll know if this Billups-for-AI swap was worth it.

Denver doesn’t want the #1 pick for Cutler

When you read something like this, you know something is seriously wrong with the NFL rookie salary structure.

The Lions are interested in Cutler and would be willing to send the Broncos the first pick in the draft. But the Broncos don’t want it. Rather, the Broncos would ask for the Lions’ second first-round pick (No. 20) and possibly their second-rounder (No. 33), or another first-round pick in 2010. The Lions don’t believe they can financially bear the burden of paying for the first pick in this year’s draft, as well as sign Cutler to a contract extension.

Can you imagine an NBA team saying that they don’t want the first overall pick?

Me neither.

The NFL needs to go to a reasonable rookie salary cap, and fast.

Report: Tim Floyd to take Arizona job

So much for those Pitino-to-Tuscon rumors. It looks as if Tim Floyd is poised to take over as head coach at Arizona.

Tim Floyd will be named basketball coach at Arizona, Mark Asher of Sports 620 KTAR, ESPN’s radio affiliate in Phoenix, is reporting according to multiple sources.

Floyd met with Arizona athletic director Jim Livengood on Wednesday night to work out the final details of the deal and an announcement is expected Thursday, according to sources.

Floyd, 55, has spent the last four seasons at USC with an 85-50 record. He led the Trojans to three NCAA tournament appearances — including the Sweet 16 in 2007.

Floyd previously coached in the NBA with the Chicago Bulls in 1999-2002 and the New Orleans Hornets in 2004.

He was also the head coach at Iowa State, New Orleans and Idaho.

Floyd is certainly a proven recruiter (O.J. Mayo, DeMar DeRozan), but I wonder if Arizona fans were expecting a bigger name to come to Tuscon. Rick Pitino recently bought a house there, which fueled speculation that he’d take over as head coach, but apparently sometimes a real estate transaction is just a real estate transaction.

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