Jun
4
Hip Hop Flip Flops
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I’ll be blogging about the major news regarding mortgage broker registration later today in the mean time I wanted to discuss two recent hip hop flip flops in sports:
Kobe Bryant
I can’t stand Kobe Bryant. Don’t get me wrong, I think he’s the second coming of Michael Jordan (sorry LeBron and D-Wade) I just don’t care for sports divas. He ranks up there with Terrell Owens, Alex Rodriguez, and Barry Bonds. You simply can’t root for these guys because they act more like Diana Ross than Derek Jeter.
Kobe recently said in an interview that he wanted out of the Los Angeles Lakers. That’s right, he wanted out of the marquee NBA franchise on the planet. A few hours later in a different interview he reneged and didn’t want out after all. Kobe is a phenomenal talent but I just don’t think he plays well with others. He could’ve played an individual sport like wrestling, bowling or even poker but he opted for a team game like basketball.
The NBA is a joke. The two worst teams (the Griz and the Celts) got jobbed in the NBA draft lottery. The Suns got jobbed in the NBA playoffs. The referees in the NBA are the most biased in professional sports. If LeBron and the Cavs don’t beat the Pistons their would be no interest whatsoever in the NBA finals. So who really cares where Kobe winds up, the NBA has other problems.
Billy Donovan
On the other end of the spectrum is Billy Donovan, the head coach of the Florida Gators. I like Billy Donovan. As a point guard in college, he led the Providence Friars to the Final Four in the mid-80’s. He played briefly for the New York Knicks in the NBA. He began his coaching career shortly thereafter.
After winning two NCAA championships with Florida, Donovan decided to take an Orlando Magic offer and try his luck in the NBA. However after a weekend to think about it, Donovan reneged and decided to return to Florida.
Donovan is an outstanding coach. He has busted my NCAA bracket many times. Every time I thought his teams would choke, they did well. He’s a legend in Florida. Why in the world would you leave the college ranks for the NBA and the Orlando Magic? It didn’t make any sense when they announced that Donovan was leaving for the NBA so I wasn’t surprised that he had second thoughts about returning to Florida. I hope that Donovan returns to the college game. He belongs there and he makes the college game that much more exciting.
What does this have to do with the mortgage world?
It’s okay to change your mind when it comes to your mortgage. Once the emotion involved with making a decision subsides, you return to your senses and sometimes your senses tell you to back out. There are millions of people who wished they changed their mind regarding their mortgage broker and/or their mortgage. If a deal seems fishy, you can and should back out. On a refinance transaction (assuming it’s not an investment property) you have 3 days to rescind your mortgage. On a purchase transaction, it’s a lot more complex, but you can still back out of the deal.
Nov
10
Basketball by the Numbers
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When I was a kid I was an avid baseball card collector. I wasted my money on pieces of cardboard that were branded with Topps, Fleer, or Donruss logos. After opening up each pack I poured over the statistics on the back like a child on Christmas day. I was enamored with numbers. I still am.
Apparently Billy Bean, the Oakland A’s General Manager is enamored with numbers as well. He wrote a book called “Money Ball.” The premise of Bean’s philosophy is to determine what statistics are truly important in fielding a sports team. Bean must be doing something right - he’s jettisoned his top players yet somehow the A’s have remained competitive. In comparison the Rockies have jettisoned their top notch players yet are bottom feeders.
I came across an article on the Freakonomics blog about Dean Oliver - a statistician for the Seattle Supersonics. He’s a statistics guy who’s trying to formulate a philosophy similar to Billy Bean regarding the stats are truly important for basketball players. The article itself appeared in wired.com
The Patriot’s GM (Scott Pioli) and Head Coach (Bill Bellichick) should co-author a book since they truly know who to jettison and how to win championships. The book would be titled “How We Screwed the Jets and Created a Dynasty in New England!”
Jul
29
In 2004 Larry Brown finally hit the apex of his NBA coaching career when he guided the Detroit Pistons to the NBA Finals and won. This year, he almost replicated the feat when his Pistons made it again to the NBA Finals but lost. Yesterday, he was named head coach of the New York Knicks.
At $10 million per year, he’s going to be the highest paid coach in the NBA. Sorry Phil “Zen Master” Jackson but Larry is now numero uno. He’s going to need every penny as he relocates his family from the suburbs of Detroit to the suburbs of New York City.He’s planning on moving to Westchester County. He might end up living down the street from Bill and Hillary Clinton since they live in Westchester (Chappaqua) as well.
Chances are he’ll be getting an estate that will easily run him between $5 to $10 million. Forget the mortgage payment, the property taxes alone are astronomical!
Chances are he’ll be getting his mortgage from a professional, not some smooth talking idiot who talks about getting him the best rate and can beat his competitors rate. I also highly doubt he’ll shop around for the best rate cause his time is valuable.
His time is indeed valuable. He needs to coach a team that finished 33-49 last year with no real center and a point guard that has never won a playoff series. I wish Larry the best of luck in getting a home, in getting a mortgage, and in getting the Knicks to the NBA Championship!