JasonM

3 minutes ago, Cloudy said:

MMA group called Total Extreme Fighting did a show in Dublin about a week ago, and Joao Carvalho was TKOed in his bout against Charlie Ward. He was taken to the hospital with head injuries afterward, and passed away from those injuries two days later. I'm assuming that's what EddieG was talking about, guessing McGregor was in attendance for it.

Charlie Ward is part of the same team as Conor is. And yeah, it seemed he was in attendance along with other team members.

4 hours ago, Lars Mulder said:

The Mavs put on a amazing fight! Props to them. 4th quarter woes continues and damn KD was terrible.

Well Conor retiring makes some sense. He's seen one of his camp friends win a fight where the other guy died after the fact, and Conor has never hid from the fact he was in the UFC to make money and the moment he felt that he was done he would be done and would walk off into the sunset.

It's a really freak situation with the death, and I think the fighter that perished was no doubt carrying a time-bomb already before the fight, and the fight simply set it into motion. After all it was fully sanctioned, and medical teams were around and in the ring during the entire fight.

But I can't blame Conor for contemplating retirement. He's got 22 fights under his belt and is only 27 years old, which is a lot of mileage for someone that has been doing it his entire adult life. It would be a loss for the sport, but it certainly wouldn't be a loss for McGregor whose made a lot of cash on his own hype in the past few years. And he'd walk out with relative health on top of that.

Diaz is crazy enough to do the same, after all he's been playing the retirement angle since 2013 and has only had one fight a year since.

Punk on the other hand, I think he completely misjudged it and is just joking around. Although he's got plenty of cash from his WWE days to never even get in a cage to begin with.

Yeah right now it's like once every five months where he says something disparaging about women in racing, he's just a raging trolling tit that loves to be hated.

So after retooling the squad last year, I managed to break through my inconsistency by getting promoted in my second season... Through getting second place and sweeping the playoffs.

As you can see, I was dominant throughout the season and was a scoring animal. The only thing I suffered were a few painful setbacks with hot strikers getting long term injuries. I even had to loan back Jason Cummings (whom I sold for 1M in the pre-season), and he ruined his achilles 7 games into the stint ending his season in december... (even more painful seeing he was 8 in 7!)

But we soldiered on, and the team's quality shone through by making the best of the big games and winning big even against Falkirk. But whilst Falkirk just chugged on with consistency, we messed up by dropping games against the likes of Airdrie, so playoffs it was... Which we won with an 8-0 aggregate in the final against St. Johnstone (we really wanted that win)

So into the premiership I have gone, and the team has remained largely the same with only superficial changes. Sold one guy for 550K, and signed a few young talents to bolster the squad, and a few loans to strengthen my wings... But that's it. I have extended Cummings who despite his big time injury managed to keep his skills up, and I feel he's a proven (and beloved) scorer who is able to continue his form in the Premiership for this team... Another extended loan is Liam Henderson from Celtic, going into his third season with the team (all on loan), who could've easily competed for playing time for Celtic, but that's their loss.

And the results don't lie, after nine games were second in the league only to unstoppable Rangers. Exceeding the already demanding expectations of being in the top six at season's end. And Cummings has been the go-to guy with six goals (hat-trick in the season opener against Hamilton!)

But despite Cummings being in elite form like he never even had an injury in the first place. The real breakout star is this kid right here.

Right Winger Roman Macek, who prior to last season failed to break through at the Juventus Academy, and whom I was shockingly enough able to sign for only 4,4K a month. And last season he was already top notch in the championship, getting 13 goals and 5 assists on 7,76avr in 29 games... But he's not just kept that form going, he's arguably improve on that form at a higher level, already having 5 goals and 4 assists in 9 games.

He's so good right now, I have a hard time wondering what to focus on after I get his balance up to 10... He's a winger first and foremost, but his defensive ability rivals my full backs. And he's got potential to become a pretty decent scorer too if improves his finishing and heading. He's basically Ronalite right now, and I am wondering whether I should try to build him into a complete forward, or a complete wing back. Suggestions are welcome, of course.

Finally here's a screenshot of my current squad. Besides having the GOAT Roy Carroll, my goal is easily the weakest spot beyond the young and inexperienced defense... Midfield is still very very strong, seeing I didn't lose a single soul in the pre-season. (Despite some teams best efforts to low-ball me every single day)

A 40 time of 0.5

Lyoto is 'sorry' he got caught cheating, he'll do his best to get away with it next time. Or he can do a Vitor Belfort and only fight in Brazil from now on.

1 hour ago, Katsuya loves Oslo said:

Lewis will start from the back of the grid because of a power failure in qualifying. Given that he had that 5 place penalty anyway though, will that have a knock on during the race too?

Lewis will start in 22nd place behind Wehrlein due to the grid penalty, it will not have a knock on like time penalties or the like. Technically he quali'd 21st due to comparing their FP3 times (in case of multiple cars having no time set), and then the 5 place penalty is added so that leaves him 22nd on the grid.

12 minutes ago, hugobomb said:

I assume since it's only a five place penalty, he'll just start last behind the Manor that crashed and didn't set a time. Not 100% sure though. Did Alonso and Button have to start from the pitlane last year when they were being handed absurd grid penalties?

Alonso/Button started at the back of the grid rather than the pits.

The only times you start in the pits is in cases of:
- parc fermé infractions
- post-quali part changes
- Being the last one off the grid during the formation lap (stalling and the final car passing you, doesn't count if you're 22nd obviously.)
- Causing an aborted start (Like Hulkenberg at Spa last year)
- Going into the pits after the formation lap for any sort of car changes (You basically are part of the race until you officially retire, so cars are allowed to start at lap 30 if they still want to drive for reasons)
- Non-Racing penalties, like Magnussen missing the weight bench.

So there's a chance that Hamilton will have to start from the pits if they have to replace a powertrain part due to the power failure.

Even though it's probably a few years off, I'm hype already

Dirt Rally is easily the best rally game since the old richard burns games. It's obviously not ultra simulation, but it's damn tough to get the hang of it and the game isn't holding your hand either with flashback's or whatever. You can reset the car, but it'll cost you 10+ seconds on your stage time, you can restart the stage but it'll cost you credits, you can repair after every two stages, but you have a very limited window of time to really get anything done.

So you really need to take care of your car and drive smart rather than just balls to the walls fast, and you need to learn your car's tendencies to really get the most of it because else you're just going to fail a lot. Example the Alpine A110 was very squirrelly and light, but under controlled driving you could fly through corners. Now the 5 Turbo is a lot more stable and weightier, but you really need to throw the thing into tight corners because it understeers like a truck (it has a turning radius of a bus).

But when you get it all clicking and you're confident and 'in the zone', it's just such an exhilarating experience to fly across crests and slide into the next one like you're the second coming of Loeb... Then it all comes crashing down and your confidence flies itself into a tree because you didn't listen to your co-driver.

After the crappers that were Dirt 3 and Showdown, this really is a 'true game' for racers. Minimal gimmicks, and just fully concentrate on rallying rather than silly Gymkhana bullshit.

From what i've heard, it's also pretty damn playable with a controller as opposed to a wheel.

So, who here has Dirt Rally and/or a wheel? Because I do.

After wondering whether I should get it for a while, I have finally bit the bullet and bought the game for PC. And the game is an absolute rush to play, especially with a wheel/pedals.
A bunch of cars from the 60s onwards, a bunch of different stages that tackle various styles of rallying (Fast paced Finland/Germany, super-technical Wales, etc.) And phenomenal pacenotes that really help you drive the right line whilst racing through a forest at 120mph

Started out with the 60s Renault Alpine, which was the first RWD I got and it was immediately a chore to go from a super-fast mentality to a technical mentality, as driving fast without skill landed me upside down in a ditch or bent around a tree. Instead you gotta focus on driving and the car, whilst listening to your co-driver bark out the notes and make sure you drive fast but clean at all times.

It's challenging as hell, came in second in my first championship (which should be the easiest one), and used my earned credits to get the 80s Renault 5 Turbo, and that thing is a whole different beast compared to the 'simple' 60s cars.

Can't wait to get my hands on a Group B monster and probably wreck it all the time.

Easily the most fun and exciting racing game i've ever played.

Feeling good and being good are two different things though. And how your body reacts to massive amounts of g-force is a whole different matter.

I'd like to see Alonso drive, but I would like to see Magnussen drive even more.

I'm shocked they didn't just give him a strong reprimand for changing his gearbox.

Kobe was just sandbagging the shit all season just to go out doing what he does best, murder an unsuspecting Jazz team.

1 hour ago, MDK said:

Training cup? And can't you get a senior affiliate, maybe get some loan players from them.

To add to the professional nature of my squad I signed Ravel Morrisson 

Challenge Cup (cup with teams below the premiership) is the actual name, I have all the 'real' names enabled with sponsors and such. Board stiffed me on getting a senior affiliate for no reason but just to spite me I guess.

I got Ryan Seeger on loan to bolster my attack, and he's been effective in the games he's played.

In the Europa League I managed to win the second round against FK Sarajevo. Then got drawn against Genk, and despite drawing the away tie 1-1, the team were unable to score or draw the home tie, so I was knocked out... But at least I got a few hundred thousand from it either way.

Took Hibernian, won the training cup AND the Scottish Cup (Europe, YAY!)... And then the team shits the bed in the final match of the season against Dundee United with 1 goal up on aggregate...

My two decent strikers (Stokes & Cummings) are gone, one I couldn't re-loan and the other got bought up for 1M and forced my hand... Lost both my goalies (signed Roy Carroll...) 

My wage bill is slashed almost by half, and I have gotten quite some money from the sales that were made. But there was nobody on the market that would improve the team and/or would actually be decently priced and willing the play in the Scottish Championship. I did manage to snap up a few loans, so that's nice... But my strikers are woefully underskilled compared to my pretty great midfield and very talented defense...

Yeah, D-Will's per 100 is exactly the same as last year. He's firmly past his prime now, but for the Mavs he's a perfect fit to adds a great playmaking presence in the backcourt. And he's still adding 10+ points per game on average which for the Mavs is very valuable.

We would've been much worse off without him.

Simbaaaaaaaaaaaaaa with the first double-double of his career with 19-10 and 3 blocks on top of that. This guy has so much hustle I will be furious if Cuban ever trades him like he did with Crowder.

On 4/4/2016 at 20:55, Benjrie Mode said:

S3E13 of AoS

  Reveal hidden contents

I really hope the Bobbi and Hunter spin off is good because they are going to be massively missed in AoS. By far the best pair on the show for me.

 

I must agree that watching this week's episode it really felt 'off' without Hunter bantering about. Especially as far as the plot went it was right up his alley to make snarky comments about everything was happening. Last week was decent because it was very much a bumper episode, but this week it really felt less lively without Bobbi and Hunter around.

They're also doing their best to push Lincoln to fill the void, but I'm still very much 'eh' about the character as a whole, he's really in some serious need to get his personality on because right now he's just 'that guy that shoots lightning and makes out with Daisy'.

Also, Grant Ward has been watching a bit too much Matrix in his free time. Sporting the long trenchcoat.

1 hour ago, Bobfoc said:

I have a couple of the older versions of this from a couple of Humble Bundles, but I never got round to playing them. I'm not very knowledgeable about baseball beyond the basics, so would this game just go way over my head?

Have you ever played a manager game like Football manager? Because it's very much a super-stat heavy spreadsheet simulator. Even heavier with the stats than FM in a lot of respects.

But you're also able to delegate stuff like day-to-day lineups to your coaches and only focus on the roster-building aspect of the game, looking for trades and drafts and simply being a general manager who shuffles the pieces and out for the coaches to work with.

Also the game has star ratings like in FM and other games, which at a glance can tell you who is good and bad (although this can still vary wildly from player to player, depending on their actual skills).

I'd say use one of the older OOTP's first and see whether you can get through a full season and what you feel about it. Seasons can go by very fast or very slow, again depending on how much you delegate and micro-manage yourself.

FIA and Bernie Ecclestone really are dead set on making F1 a complete joke of a shitshow just to to win the discussion. And it's clear they don't care if the fans turn their backs on the sport because they're ashamed of what it has become.

I feel that the teams and drivers really need to make a hard statement by boycotting an entire Friday, or even Saturday or Sunday. Because else Todt and Bernie are just going to continue pissing off everyone in their attempt to win their game of thrones. Because it's painfully obvious they're not listening to anyone but themselves right now.

That moment when your season looks like it's in the gutter, and naturally JJ Barea is the guy that carries the entire team on his 5ft2 back and decides to run the entire team despite being a wildly inconsistent rotational player for most of the season.

This has truly become another Mavericks season, and Barea is right back doing what he does best... Be absolute shit for most of the season, until the team has the backs to the wall and he can take over...

But on top of that, Justin Anderson looks like a future defensive star with the way he's been performing now that he's gotten a starting five spot with Chandler Parsons out for the season. In his five starts he's gotten 6.6 rebounds and 1.2 blocks, and adding a pretty decent 7.2 on .536 shooting. And those stats don't tell the entire story because Simba has shown up with huge plays during crunch time. Like his huge block against Ariza yesterday.

I was genuinely dissapointed when we lost Jae Crowder to the Celtics last year, especially seeing how that trade ended up being for us. (At least Powell has shown glimpses of being a very good PF). But Anderson has been a draft steal and the Mavs need to do everything in keeping the guy and nurturing him, because he's got potential to be a great defensive swingman

And from what i've heard, the MGS5 story is pretty damn crap anyways, even compared to the other insano MGS stories.

So just take most things with a pinch of salt, because the game is all about the gameplay rather than story...

On 3-4-2016 at 20:25, Meacon said:

That a whole lotta red.

That's what you get when you let Eva Marie handle Barcelona's finances

All Red Everything