Will Scarlhoot

Kevin Byers

Solving The Bosh Puzzle: The Detroit Pistons Piece

So one day in late April, I checked in on my blog and noticed a lack of something. Sifting through them, I found pieces on Hedo, the Young Gunz, the Amazing Race, video games, the Olympics, etc. But the one thing that was truly missing was a piece about the franchise - CB4. And yeah, sure, maybe I did that because every other media outlet was beating the whole "Chris Bosh" topic to death; but still.

Like many others, I don't want to take Bosh for granted. And so with the realization that he may be gone very soon, I wanted to dedicate the next 30 days or so to him with my writing and this very blog. After all, this may be my last chance to discuss him on here.

The mission - should you choose to read it - is simple. Everyday, I'll breakdown a different team's outlook in regards to acquiring our franchise player. We'll take a look at how a potential transaction will affect both sides of the spectrum, and whether or not such a move could potentially go down.

Disclaimer: Let's please keep in mind that I'm not majoring in the NBA's Collective Bargaining Agreement; so if there's a few errors here and there in that regards, please let me know. Thanks!

Previous Piece: The Denver Nuggets

Today's Piece: The Detroit Pistons



Players Of Interests
Richard Hamilton
Tayshaun Prince
Ben Gordon
Jason Maxiell
Rodney Stuckey
Austin Daye
Jonas Jerebko

Ladies and gentlemen, to your left, you'll see a prime example of what happens when you mess around with a formula that works: The Detroit Pistons! Having been built recently through players with high basketball IQ both on the offensive and defensive end, the Pistons went a different route last summer. Their off-season blockbuster acquisitions included the likes of Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva. And not to anyone's surprise, they were teased for picking up two dudes only known for their offensive arsenal but with no interest whatsoever in playing defense.

As expected by many, this experiment turned out to be a failure. Both Charlie and Ben were hampered by injuries, and neither player was able to tap into what made them so successful in their contract year.

But through it all, I fully expect this team to bounce back next season. Why? This franchise is just too proud to have another horrid year. Keeping in mind they stay healthy, this very same team would challenge for a late playoff spot. But I don't think that's good enough, so let's say they take a shot at Bosh.

The problem with Detroit is that they're kind of like us. There's a lot of serviceable players on long expensive contracts, but no stars, future stars, or players on bargain deals. With that in mind, we are pretty poor potential Bosh partners.

One thing I can see Detroit wanting to do and BC probably not minding is taking on Piston players with long term deals. I'm talking about Rip Hamilton and Ben Gordon. If a Bosh deal went down, one of these guys would definitely be sent our way. We take the contract off their hands, while we provide a change of scenery to a player still capable of lighting it up.

I think obviously their most attractive piece is Tayshaun Prince. Again, he doesn't do anything special, but he knows how to win and more importantly, he's got a 11 million dollar expiring contract attached to his name. There's nothing ever wrong with adding more length.

Three other players that wouldn't be bad pickups are Maxiell, Jerebko, and Stuckey. If for some reason we can't retain Amir Johnson, Maxiell wouldn't be a bad pickup to replace him if we were to deal with Detroit. Jerebko is another big in that mold who would probably be just as effective as Maxiell but at a much cheaper price. And lastly, Stuckey would be a fairly decent option as a scoring point guard next to Hedo Turkoglu.

My Preferred Scenario:

Raptors Trade Chris Bosh, Jose Calderon,
Pistons Trade Tayshaun Prince (expiring), Austin Daye, Rip Hamilton

It was tough to come up with a trade that both made sense for the Raptors and the Pistons/Bosh. I'm not exactly sure Bosh would be amped up to play with Stuckey/Gordon/Villaneuva. But if you're asking me what I would prefer back from Detroit, this package would be it. Prince provides us with salary cap, Daye gives us that length and a young piece moving forward, while Rip Hamilton becomes the perfect player to pair up with Turk. For the Pistons...umm...well, I dunno. I guess if you could find a decent rebounding and shot-blocking big, as well as a defensive stopper at the 3 spot, you could have pretty well rounded team there....

More Likely Scenario:

We just stay away from each other.

On Tenterhoots

Wonderful reader submission from Lily, done by Barb Allen at Inka Tattoo Studios
in Brighton, UK.

FallHoot Boy

Randy Engelhard

Hoot For The Moon

Quick submission roundup...

Joe sent in the above, done by Alex at Old Skool Tattoos, New Bern, NC.


Krystal's owl above was done by done by Jae Audette of Flying Tiger Tattoo in New Britian, CT

Artist submission from Endjiss.


And finally, an in progress Barn Owl from Peter, done by Lutz Lehmann

Another mystery for you underhammer sleuths.

Some time ago I received an inquiry from one of our readers regarding a rather well-made underhammer action sporting a coiled internal mainspring. Unfortunately, I don't have any information on the maker, D.A. Stanley. 

The sophistication of the part numbering system that Mr. Stanley employed seems to indicate that he may have made a number of these little actions. Perhaps enough of them that some of you readers may recognize the gadget and know the story behind the man and his underhammer product. If you have any information please contact me by e-mail and I'll share it with our readers.

After careful study of the photo, I am guessing that it was intended for use in a target rifle as it does not appear to have a half-cock or safety notch which is essential in a field gun.

For those of you who are tinkerers and machinists, you can get a closer look at the workings of it by clicking on the photo. Then click the Back button on your browser to return to the text. Perhaps you'll get some inspiration from its design.

BTW, our poll results indicate that most of you readers are target shooters, so I do hope that the Stanley action is something that some of you may recognize.

.

Straight Hoota Compton

Tattooist submission from AJ Lingerfeldt

Bad Hootenant

Kate Mackay Gill

Solving The Bosh Puzzle: The Denver Nuggets Piece

So one day in late April, I checked in on my blog and noticed a lack of something. Sifting through them, I found pieces on Hedo, the Young Gunz, the Amazing Race, video games, the Olympics, etc. But the one thing that was truly missing was a piece about the franchise - CB4. And yeah, sure, maybe I did that because every other media outlet was beating the whole "Chris Bosh" topic to death; but still.

Like many others, I don't want to take Bosh for granted. And so with the realization that he may be gone very soon, I wanted to dedicate the next 30 days or so to him with my writing and this very blog. After all, this may be my last chance to discuss him on here.

The mission - should you choose to read it - is simple. Everyday, I'll breakdown a different team's outlook in regards to acquiring our franchise player. We'll take a look at how a potential transaction will affect both sides of the spectrum, and whether or not such a move could potentially go down.

Disclaimer: Let's please keep in mind that I'm not majoring in the NBA's Collective Bargaining Agreement; so if there's a few errors here and there in that regards, please let me know. Thanks!

Previous Piece: The Dallas Mavericks

Today's Piece: The Denver Nuggets



Players of Interests:
Kenyon Martin
J.R. Smith
Chris Andersen
Ty Lawson
Aaron Affalo

If there's one team who can top off the previous team we discussed in regards to disappointments, it would definitely be the Denver Nuggets. Not your typical 4th seed (only 1 game back of 3rd, 2 games back of 2nd, and 4 from the 1st seed), heavy expectations were placed heading into the post-season. They had everything you could want in a team destined to make a strong push for a title. The leadership and ability to hit the clutch shot at point guard with Billups. Length, athleticism, and paint intimidation at the 4 and 5 spots. 3 point shooters and instant offense off the bench. And lastly, a swingman with the ability to take over the game.

So what happened?

Well, they ran into an equally tough and well coached Utah Jazz team. Perhaps the absence of George Karl played a role in it. Or maybe the right fit wasn't there. Personally, I put a lot of blame in their lack of a post presence on the offensive side of the ball.

Here are the scoring averages Denver's bigs put up in the post-season:

Nene: 11.4 pts
Martin: 10.0 pts
Andersen: 4.5 pts

If you compare that to the teams are left in the playoffs, Denver really doesn't have that one big that they can rely on to score when things get really gritty in the playoffs. Phoenix has it with Amare (20.5 pts), the Lakers have it with Gasol (20.2), Boston has it in KG with one leg (17.1), while Cleveland uses a combo of Jamison (16.5) and Shaq (10.5). And then of course there's Orlando who still has Dwight averaging 15 points a game in the playoffs, but also can rely on the biggest army of 3 point shooters in the NBA.

So why not add Chris Bosh to you team folks!

First and foremost, Ty Lawson has to be included in whatever deal could potentially be made. If I'm Bryan Colangelo, I don't make a deal with them unless Lawson is included. This is just my opinion, but if there's one point guard who could have shared the glory and spotlight with Jennings, Evans, and Curry if he had been given a chance, it would be Ty. Playing behind Billups unfortunately means you won't be getting heavy minutes, but every time Chauncey went down, Lawson filled in beautifully. And imagine grouping our Young Gunz with an athletic speedster like this:



Next, one player that has to absolutely be involved is Kenyon Martin. Even though he's as injury prone as you can possibly get these days, it's his expiring contract that will be attractive to the Raptors. Most likely picking up his player option, Martin will turn into a 16.5 million dollar expiring. Even if he doesn't play a single game for the Raps, my mind is racing with what we can do with that amount of money in possible trades.

Other players that come to mind are JR Smith, the Birdman, and Aaron Affalo. Of the 3, Smith and Affalo would probably interest the Raps more. Chris "The Birdman" Andersen would be a decent big off the bench for us, but I don't think the Raps are looking to lock themselves up in expensive long term deals at the moment. Besides, I would rather give the money I'd be spending on Andersen to Amir Johnson.

My Preferred Scenario:
Raptors Trade Chris Bosh, Jose Calderon
Nuggets Trade Kenyon Martin (expiring), Ty Lawson, JR Smith (expiring)

I'm actually really liking this. I'm not sure if it'd be agreed on by both sides or if the trade works financially (should be close though). But it really is perfect for us. We get to dump Jose Calderon's contract on them (which expires only 1 year after Billups and Melo). At the same time, we acquire a gigantic expiring contract, our possible point guard of the future, and an explosive wingman who might flourish with a change of scenery. Meanwhile, Denver heads into the Western Conference War with a Big 3 of Billups/Melo/Bosh.


More Likely Scenario:

Raptors Trade Chris Bosh
Nuggets Trade Kenyon Martin (expiring), Ty Lawson

Still a pretty good return in my eyes. And pretty self explanatory if you read what I wrote above. Yeah, I'd still prefer to dump Jose and pick up JR, but beggars can't be choosers.

Hootel New Hampshire

A quick reader roundup - I'm almost catching up with submissions! woo!

William submitted the above, the artist is Pat Brabham from Perkins Road Parlour in Baton Rouge, La.


Ryan's owl was done by Ron @ Lone Wolf Tattoo in Bellmore, NY


Hilary + owl chestpiece, by Travis White in Albany, GA.

In memory, Frank Frazhoota

Johnny Jackson

The Fast And The Furyhoots

And a third tattooist submission for today, this one from AJ Ruin.

Hootel Rwanda

Tattooist submission from Elliot Bowes.

Tottenham Hootspur

Another tattooist submission from Daniel Herlihy, previously featured here.

We're taking a poll...

Yes, we're taking a poll, but not about solutions to world problems. It seems that we already have enough politicians who would have us believe that they've got it under control - despite their ongoing and astounding screw-ups. Truly, the idiots are running the asylum! But that's another subject for another poll. Here we have serious questions to consider and need your input - just to get a better idea of who's reading this stuff.

No need for concern about privacy. By participating, your personal information will not be collected and forwarded to INTERPOL. So, no silenced black helicopters dropping Ninja assassins into your backyard to take you out because you clicked on that "tricky" answer.

There are no trick questions or wrong answers, so when you get to the bottom of the page, please take a moment to clue me in as to your underhammer interests. However, if you're a collector I won't guarantee that we'll have a whole lot more astounding new facts about The Significant Role of Underhammers in the French Revolution. But, it should be interesting to see who's reading and what your interests are.

Yeah, I know, using blatant sex to coerce you into participation is pretty despicable, but I had to do something to get your attention.

BTW, better wipe that smile off your face before the significant other sees it.


Thanks for playing along.

Cheers!



THE RESULTS!
           
Well friends, the polls are closed and the results are in.
I want to extend a big Thank You to those few of you who did take the time to participate.

So, here's a cross section of you readers - or at least those who responded:

Target shooters.............................................................27  (67%)
Hunters.........................................................................21  (52%)
Collectors.......................................................................6  (15%)

All the above.................................................................10  (25%)     None of the above. I just came for the free stuff...............1  (2%) You gotta love that last one! Perhaps we can do this again some time. Cheers!

Maria Jose Martinez Sport Gallery

Maria Jose Martinez - Sanchez

María José Martínez Sánchez (born 12 August, 1982 in Yecla, Murcia, Spain) is a professional tennis player from Spain. In singles, Martínez Sánchez has won two WTA singles titles, at the 2009 Copa Sony Ericsson Colsanitas and the 2009 Swedish Open. She was also a runner-up at the 2008 Barcelona KIA. As a junior she won the 1999 Orange Bowl, a year-ending tennis event for junior players. She reached heer career high ranking in singles of World No. 25 on January 11, 2010. She is currently ranked World No. 28, as of February 1, 2010.

In doubles, Martínez Sánchez has won twelve WTA doubles titles, including the 2009 WTA Tour Championships with Nuria Llagostera Vives. She has also won four titles with Anabel Medina Garrigues. Martínez Sánchez reached a career high doubles ranking of World No. 5 on November 2, 2009.

Source : Wikipedia.com

Rubens Barrichello

Rubens Barrichello

Rubens Gonçalves "Rubinho" Barrichello (born May 23, 1972 in São Paulo) is a Brazilian Formula One racing driver. Driving for the Brawn GP team, Barrichello finished third in the 2009 championship. He is racing for WilliamsF1 in 2010.

Barrichello has scored the fourth highest points total in Formula One history. Barrichello drove for Ferrari from 2000 to 2005, as Michael Schumacher's teammate, enjoying considerable success including finishing as championship runner-up in 2002 and 2004. Schumacher's retirement at the end of 2006 made Barrichello the most experienced driver on the grid, and at the 2008 Turkish Grand Prix he became the most experienced driver in F1 history. He is set to become the first driver to reach 300 Grand Prix entries and 300 starts in 2010. Assuming the season is trouble free, his 300th start will be achieved at the Japanese Grand Prix.

Source : Wikipedia.com

Jelena Jankovic Tennis Sport

Jelena Jankovic

Jelena Jankovic (Serbian: Jelena Janković, Serbian Cyrillic: Јелена Јанковић, Serbian pronunciation: [ˈjɛlɛna ˈjaːnkɔvitɕ]; born February 28, 1985 in Belgrade) is a former World No. 1 Serbian professional tennis player. She has reached one Grand Slam final and is currently ranked World No. 7.

Career

Janković learned her first tennis skills in Tennis Club 'Red Star'. As a nine-and-a-half year old she was introduced to tennis by her elder brother and fitness coach Marko. She was later trained at the Tennis Academy of Nick Bollettieri. As a junior she won the 2001 Australian Open. In 2001, she started to play on the WTA Tour; she reached the second round at her first tournament at the Indian Wells Masters.

In October 2003, Janković entered the top 100 at No. 90 for the first time after winning her first ITF title in Dubai. Three months later, Janković garnered her first top 10 win against Elena Dementieva 6–1, 6–4 in the first round of the 2004 Australian Open. In May, Janković won her first WTA title, a Tier V event, in Budapest, defeating Martina Suchá in the final 7–6, 6–3. Following her win in Budapest, she reached No. 51 in the world. Elsewhere in her 2004 season, she defeated top 20 players Nadia Petrova (twice), Vera Zvonareva, Patty Schnyder and Paola Suárez. Janković finished 2004 ranked No. 28 in the world.

She was ranked World No. 1 for seventeen consecutive weeks until she was overtaken by Serena Williams on February 2, 2009. She was the year-end World No. 1 in 2008, the first player in the history of the WTA tour to do this without winning a Grand Slam title. As of August 3, 2009, she is ranked World No. 5.

Janković has reached the singles final of the US Open and the singles semifinals of the Australian Open and the French Open. In 2007, she became the first Serbian player to win a Grand Slam Title when she won the Wimbledon mixed doubles title with British partner Jamie Murray.

Source : Wikipedia.com

Dirty Hooty

Marcus Korling

Date Nhoot

A couple of DeviantArt owls.

Hoots in Atlantis

Getting closer to catching up on reader submissions...

First from Matt, by Guapo at Godspeed tattoo in Breckenridge CO.


Next up, Robert, done by Oliver at The Tattoo Shop in Midland, Tx.


Guo sent in the above, done by Richard Bahadur


This coverup was sent in by Ken and done by Matt Laster, Whittier, California.


And last but not least, Yesenia and her tattoo done by Dario from Element Tattoo in San Antonio, TX.

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Solving The Bosh Puzzle: The Dallas Mavericks Piece

So one day in late April, I checked in on my blog and noticed a lack of something. Sifting through them, I found pieces on Hedo, the Young Gunz, the Amazing Race, video games, the Olympics, etc. But the one thing that was truly missing was a piece about the franchise - CB4. And yeah, sure, maybe I did that because every other media outlet was beating the whole "Chris Bosh" topic to death; but still.

Like many others, I don't want to take Bosh for granted. And so with the realization that he may be gone very soon, I wanted to dedicate the next 30 days or so to him with my writing and this very blog. After all, this may be my last chance to discuss him on here.

The mission - should you choose to read it - is simple. Everyday, I'll breakdown a different team's outlook in regards to acquiring our franchise player. We'll take a look at how a potential transaction will affect both sides of the spectrum, and whether or not such a move could potentially go down.

Disclaimer: Let's please keep in mind that I'm not majoring in the NBA's Collective Bargaining Agreement; so if there's a few errors here and there in that regards, please let me know. Thanks!

Previous Piece: The Cleveland Cavaliers

Today's Piece: The Dallas Mavericks



Players of Interests:
Dirk Nowitzki
Erick Dampier
Caron Butler
DeShawn Stevenson
Rodrigue Beaubois
Brendan Haywood

If there's one city that had the most craziest basketball year, it would have to be Dallas - HANDS DOWN. Obviously, there was All-Star weekend. The world's best basketball talent all converged onto the Texas city only to be greeted by a snowstorm? Yup. On top of that - because everything has to be bigger in Texas - the actual All-Star game was played at the new Cowboys Stadium that clearly was built with the U.S. stimulus money. In regards to the basketball side of things, Dallas had another very successful year. Already one of the best teams coming into the trade deadline, the Mavs made a splash by acquiring Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson from the Wizards. And after tearing up the NBA soon after, many were convinced that Dallas was the most equipped to make a title run this year.

However - it all came crashing down in the first round of the playoffs.

See, if there's one thing that Dallas has taught me, it's that spending money doesn't guarantee you anything in the NBA. Going into tax territory may increase your chances of playoff success, but at the end of the day, you still have to play the game. So, the question for me now is: Has owner Mark Cuban learned that lesson as well? Depending on the answer to that, the Mavs could go many different directions this off-season; especially with the possibility of Dirk Nowitzki opting for free agency.

But let's say Cuban does whatever it takes to bring in Dallas-native Chris Bosh. What could be sent back our way in a Sign and Trade? Like I said, it really depends on Cuban's willingness to continue spending money. If he has no problem with being locked into a ton of long term deals with no cap relief, then they have a few things we could ask.

For instance, Caron Butler, Erick Dampier, and DeShawn Stevenson all hold very large expiring contracts. Combined with the our expirings of Marcus Banks and Reggie Evans, we could use these contracts to speed up the rebuilding process.

Of course, we have to take into consideration the unlikeliness that Cuban parts with all three contracts, but if there's one I'd love to have the most of the 3, it would have to be Caron Butler. Not only would he give us close to 11 million dollars in expiring money, but he'd also be the perfect mentor to someone like DeMar DeRozan. I see a lot of similarities between the two. When Caron first came into the league, he didn't have the greatest of handles (he still doesn't for a wing player) and he was a horrible 3 point shooter (still is - 31% career 3 pt. percentage). But if there's one thing Caron could be applauded on, it was his ability to capitalize on what he did do best, and that's make that mid range jumper, slash to the bucket, and get to the free throw line. Those are all the things DeMar relied on in his rookie season. So if we could get Caron to help out DeMar even for just one year, I think it would pay dividends down the road.

Lastly, the other player that I hope we could squeeze out of Dallas is someone they're pretty high on: Rodrigue Beaubois. This guy just oozes talent on the court, and could very well burst out once Jason Kidd leaves. But does Cuban let him go knowing it may have been a mistake to let Devin Harris go?

Mr Preferred Scenario:
Raptors Trade Chris Bosh, Jose Calderon
Mavericks Trade Caron Butler (expiring), DeShawn Stevenson (expiring), Rodrigue Beaubois, TPE

Ignoring the semantics, the premise of this transaction is pretty simple. Dallas brings Chris Bosh back home to team up with Dirk, Kidd, Marion, get to put Terry back at the 2 spot, possibly re-sign Haywood, and get to keep Dampiers' awesome expiring contract. At the same time, they get Jose Calderon to platoon that point guard spot with Kidd, something Jose is quite familiar with doing already. Meanwhile, the Raptors get roughly around 15 million in expiring money in Butler and Stevenson. Butler will be advertised as DeMar's mentor and the wing scorer we need to stay competitive this year, while Stevenson will probably be advertised by BC and MLSE as a stopper who has a competitive swagger (lol). I laugh because it'll probably happen that way too. We also get to dump Jose's contract for a wicked young point guard prospect in Beaubois. Just imagine him running the fast break with the Young Gunz...

More Likely Scenario:
Raptors Trade Chris Bosh, Jose Calderon
Mavericks Trade Erick Dampier (expiring), DeShawn Stevenson (expiring), Brendan Haywood (re-signed), Draft Pick/TPE of some sort.

In this trade, I go with the assumption that Cuban keeps both the present and future in mind. He keeps Caron Butler who prove to be that wing scorer for next season in a championship run, but also expires for cap relief. He also gets to keep Beaubois, not wanting to have the feeling of letting two young point guards go with nothing to show for it. I'm just not sure how a Dirk and Bosh front court works though, but that's not our problem. Preferably, I'd love to get Beaubois, but if not, I definitely want a re-signed Haywood coming our way to play next to Bargnani.

Hoot Murmur

Tattooist submission by Scott Lukacs.

Twhooter

A reader/tattooist submission from Eric Scsavnicki, Ink monster Tattoo, Atlanta, GA. The first is an owl on him done by Darrin White, the second is his own work.

EDIT: 400th post!!!