Post by SPL on Jan 10, 2017 8:51:09 GMT -6
Think this is one that is well overdue. Heebs gave me a chance to ask him some questions. Enjoy.
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I'm a boring, introverted, middle aged father of two. I grew up in Indianapolis, went to college in Michigan, law school in LA, and now work for a firm based out of DC but live in Michigan where my wife is a professor. Sarcasm and self-deprecation are my go-to forms of humor. Unfortunately I'm not very funny, so it never really works.
Do you remember what brought you to sim league?
Druce asked me one day. I'm sad I didn't join earlier. I am one of those guys that just sims dynasties of sports games and rarely actually plays (which is why I suck so much at the actual gameplay, except when I play GBG). So TMBSL is perfect for me. The best part of my day is generally reviewing the most recent sim.
Congratulations on your championship in 3041. I believe this is your 2nd now. Which to you was more satififying? The first or the one that beat the Dump Dynasty?
The first for sure. I'd had a lot of good teams and couldn't get past the Thunder dynasty. It was really frustrating and the first title was pretty liberating. The second title was great, too. I never had a chance to actually beat the Celtics because they were bounced in the first round, just like they will be (were) this year.
Speaking of Dump, anything you would want to say to your friend? You always have kind words to share to each other.
Time to blow it up, Dump. Get what you can for Bird and Jimmy and rebuild. Fason has the east on lock for the rest of Bird's career.
Despite our sim feud, I like and respect Dump quite a bit. If I were a business owner and I could hire any GM as an employee, he'd be one of the first few GMs I'd want to hire. He's hard working, honest, and an all round decent human being.
Time for some lists, can you give me a list of your all time 5 best and worst GM's of sim league and a little reason why?
5 Best
Fason - he's the best GM IMO. Very low key with his moves. Knows when to blow it up to sell assets and reinvest in young talent.
20s - Dealt with quite a few set backs as a GM and still was one of the best. Knows how to build teams.
Ankly - Great talent evaluator. One of the first things I do when I write my FA article is look at which Suns are coming up as FAs. They may not be the best players, but they are generally unheralded contributors.
Soup - Responsible for more titles in sim league than any other GM. I almost left him off because it's been too long since he was a GM, but you can only deny greatness for so long.
Trofie - Because I'm not the kind of guy that would choose myself even though I'm better than Trofie.
5 Worst
devine - scumbagged me on the Dwight Howard trade in my first week as a GM. Refused to trade me Isiah Thomas. Truly incompetent.
Canes - Overthinks everything except when he doesn't and bails out Ward for free. Doesn't have a firm grasp on asset values. An absolute nightmare to negotiate with.
eric - Eric has done a TON for the league and is a genuine pleasure to be around and shout with, but for someone with his knowledge of the software he really should have more success than he does. I think a big part of his failures are that he refuses to tank so he's never had a top draft pick. If he'd clear his roster, tank for a couple of years, extend his seconds rounders and then use his cap space to play moneyball with top tier rookies on cheap deals he'd almost certainly be in the top 5.
Bankz - Billy Donovan. Jermaine O'Neal and lotto picks for old-ass Reeves.
rv - Bad GM. Sociopath. Just a total creep.
We all have that one GM that we just hate to deal with and talk with, who is that GM for you and why?
Bankz. Any time I'd negotiate with Bankz I was actually negotiating with Soup, except Bankz would filter a lot of my offers/counters/responses for reasons I've never understood.
Can you give me your all time starting 5 of sim league. Players do not need to be current.
Magic / Stanley Robinson / Myles Turner (Bird if I can't cheese) / Shareef / Blair
What is the best sporting event you have attended?
'12 Stanford @ ND. I was in the north endzone and got to watch OT. Being there live and in person I can confirm the whistle blew and ND players were celebrating before the Cardinal RB crossed the goal line on fourth down.
Who is your favorite athlete and why?
I've never really had a single favorite athlete. Right now I'd say I really admire Jaylon Smith. He is an absolute stud athlete and, from all indications a stellar human being. Plus he went to Notre Dame.
If you could make one change to sim league, what would that change be and why?
Set DCs for preseason.
Rank your top 5 drinks by choice
Water (no ice, sparkling if possible)
Coffee (strong and black)
Red wine (cabs)
Beer (stouts)
Whiskey (bourbon)
In my opinion, you are one of the best at evaluating players in sim league and finding hidden gems. Obviously, you do not want to give away too much but anything you would care to share about whay you look for?
I value rebounding and defense. I abhor turnovers. I like players that get to the line, even if they don't shoot a great percentage. I don't keep any spreadsheets or anything and rely on the eyeball test and intuition/gut/instinct.
In life we all have those teams and fanbases that we don't like or cannot stand. What fanbases is that for you and why?
All LA sports teams. LA is full of transient, shallow fair-weather fans.
Penn State fans that defend Paterno. Self explanatory.
Ohio State. Farva.
Let's get some ND talk in here, Are we now a basketball school or what do you see in the future with Brian Kelly and the football team?
I am cautiously optimistic that Kelly finally shook up his coaching core enough to get some fresh ideas/input. After the NC State game I wanted his head, but I cooled off and realized that outside of Herman (who wasn't coming to ND) there wasn't really an available upgrade to Kelly. I am risk averse and value stability, so I'm glad we kept Kelly.
We have Valentines day approaching, if I gave you the powers of Cupid and you can hit love arrows, who would you match up with what gms?
Fason - TAT
Soup - Rashida Jones
Pete - Taylor Swift
KN - Anna Kendrick
Dirt - Melanie Silvestri
eric - Rosie from the Jetsons
Ian - whichever IG model he's stalking these days.
Any final words or shout outs?
We need more podcasts. Someone please host a podcast.
