Millionaires at 50% effort

[etiennep99]

The Sabres brass say that the goal is the Stanley Cup. But they admit that their defense is so bad that playing Dahlin 30 minutes a night at half-speed is better than playing any of their other d-men. They say "pick your spots".  Apparently, Von Miller says that he takes it easy at the start of games because his role is "to close out play" at the end of games.  What if Von Miller played hard in the 1st quarter, and when the Bills are up by 30 points in the 4th quarter, he can rest on the bench?  How about Dahlin plays 100% at the start of games so that the Sabres are up entering the 3rd period?  The last game was the first they had lost in regulation during last 2 years when up after 2 periods.    I've never had a boss tell me to "take it easy" or "take off shifts".  If there was work to be done, it was expected that I gave it my best.  And, trust me, I never made millions of dollars.   The guys on WGR are saying that they want to draft a receiver who openly stated that doesn't play hard if he thinks that the pass is going the other way.   Such prima donnas.

 

Edited March 6 by etiennep99
spelling

[7+6=13]

It doesn't bother me anymore that athletes make a lot of money.  They are part of an entity that brings in a certain amount of money and they receive their part based on their value to the team paying them. 

Kind of like Actors/Actresses.  I had friends and family that would say they're not going to the movies anymore because they're sick of how they act and they aren't supporting that anymore.  Then I mentioned look, you're not paying them millions, you're paying $13 for them to entertain you.  Put it into context.  

BTW, what athletes go through is actually quite brutal.  You complain about Von, yet if you think for just a minute about what happened to him and what how difficult that was, to then hurry up and get back on the field, it's not for normal people.  

 

 

Edited March 6 by 7+6=13

[hockey]

etienne has been a low-effort troll here for years.

At least put some more effort in.

[Mango]

32 minutes ago, 7+6=13 said:

It doesn't bother me anymore that athletes make a lot of money.  They are part of an entity that brings in a certain amount of money and they receive their part based on their value to the team paying them. 

Kind of like Actors/Actresses.  I had friends and family that would say they're not going to the movies anymore because they're sick of how they act and they aren't supporting that anymore.  Then I mentioned look, you're not paying them millions, you're paying $13 for them to entertain you.  Put it into context.  

BTW, what athletes go through is actually quite brutal.  You complain about Von, yet if you think for just a minute about what happened to him and what how difficult that was, to then hurry up and get back on the field, it's not for normal people.  

 

 

Being CEO should pay a lot. Being CEO of a company that brings in $6,000 per year in revenue pays a pack of gum. 

Athletes are the product. They are the iPhone, the SUV, the paint you use in your living room. They make a portion of the revenue they create. $40M a year for throwing a football for 10 years is a lot. $40M because you are directly responsible for a 35% increase in revenue at a company worth $4B is reasonable value. 

 

[That Aud Smell]

I no longer think about pro athletes' salaries when thinking about things like performance, on-ice success, etc. 

Pro athletes are phenomenal physical specimens who do incredibly difficult things in a competitive, contact environment.

Are there loafers and prima donnas among them? Sure. Just as there are with any team in any business setting -- although I'd venture that there might be proportionally fewer loafers and prima donnas in the pro athlete ranks.

The more I live, the more I think that the distribution of kinds of people in populations (loafers, prima donnas, as*holes, saints, grinders, leaders, goofballs) is more or less consistent across people of all sorts.

And as a wise man once said: "It doesn't take all kinds ... but we got all kinds."

[LTS]

1 hour ago, 7+6=13 said:

It doesn't bother me anymore that athletes make a lot of money.  They are part of an entity that brings in a certain amount of money and they receive their part based on their value to the team paying them. 

Kind of like Actors/Actresses.  I had friends and family that would say they're not going to the movies anymore because they're sick of how they act and they aren't supporting that anymore.  Then I mentioned look, you're not paying them millions, you're paying $13 for them to entertain you.  Put it into context.  

BTW, what athletes go through is actually quite brutal.  You complain about Von, yet if you think for just a minute about what happened to him and what how difficult that was, to then hurry up and get back on the field, it's not for normal people.  

 

 

It doesn't bother me that people make money.  Who can blame someone for making a good living because millions of people are willing to pay some amount of money for them to play a sport, act, etc. If someone can be part of a product or create a product that nets them incredible amounts of money and they are willing to do what it takes to be part of that product then good for them.

At the same time, if you buy into the product you are part of the product lifecycle and as such it really reduces any argument one might have against the product itself. In your example above your friends paying $13 doesn't seem like much, but it is a combined situation. If they are staunchly against actors and actresses they should not support the movies because they are supporting those people and their actions. It may only be $13, but it adds up.  If a person isn't willing to own their actions at a personal level then they are just expecting everyone else to shoulder the burden.  It's a cop out.  Putting it into context, if all the taxpayers in NYS spent $13 a year on movies and instead donated that $13 to the NYS Teachers Association to be directly distributed to one of the roughyl 205,000 public school teachers it would be enough to give each teacher an estimated $677.  It might not seem like a lot, but it will help offset what teachers shell out of pocket for teaching supplies.

Similarly, I don't want people to be injured but I don't place any greater value on what Von Miller goes through from an injury than anyone else.. It's dismissive of "normal" people to say it's not something they could do. There are people who are in physical therapy every day working to get back from an injury and most of them don't have massive paychecks to protect their financial status regardless of what happens.  Those people have added mental strains about how they pay their bills, or make a living if their leg or arm doesn't heal.

 

[etiennep99]

1 hour ago, LTS said:

Similarly, I don't want people to be injured but I don't place any greater value on what Von Miller goes through from an injury than anyone else.. It's dismissive of "normal" people to say it's not something they could do. There are people who are in physical therapy every day working to get back from an injury and most of them don't have massive paychecks to protect their financial status regardless of what happens.  Those people have added mental strains about how they pay their bills, or make a living if their leg or arm doesn't heal.

Studies have shown that it's seriously more difficult to be poor than rich.  Rich person: "oh sure ahead and fix the Porsche". Poor person: "Um, I know that my tires are bald and my battery needs constant jumping, but I have to buy baby food, and I'm out of tooth-paste." 

[Big Guava]

4 hours ago, etiennep99 said:

The Sabres brass say that the goal is the Stanley Cup. But they admit that their defense is so bad that playing Dahlin 30 minutes a night at half-speed is better than playing any of their other d-men. They say "pick your spots".  Apparently, Von Miller says that he takes it easy at the start of games because his role is "to close out play" at the end of games.  What if Von Miller played hard in the 1st quarter, and when the Bills are up by 30 points in the 4th quarter, he can rest on the bench?  How about Dahlin plays 100% at the start of games so that the Sabres are up entering the 3rd period?  The last game was the first they had lost in regulation during last 2 years when up after 2 periods.    I've never had a boss tell me to "take it easy" or "take off shifts".  If there was work to be done, it was expected that I gave it my best.  And, trust me, I never made millions of dollars.   The guys on WGR are saying that they want to draft a receiver who openly stated that doesn't play hard if he thinks that the pass is going the other way.   Such prima donnas.

 

 

He doesn't need to tell you to take it easy or take shifts off because you probably do plenty of that of your own accord.

[etiennep99]

44 minutes ago, Big Guava said:

 

He doesn't need to tell you to take it easy or take shifts off because you probably do plenty of that of your own accord.

Since you know NOTHING about me personally, it seems that you're the one prone to lazy thinking at the very least.

[BullBuchanan]

5 hours ago, etiennep99 said:

The Sabres brass say that the goal is the Stanley Cup. But they admit that their defense is so bad that playing Dahlin 30 minutes a night at half-speed is better than playing any of their other d-men. They say "pick your spots".  Apparently, Von Miller says that he takes it easy at the start of games because his role is "to close out play" at the end of games.  What if Von Miller played hard in the 1st quarter, and when the Bills are up by 30 points in the 4th quarter, he can rest on the bench?  How about Dahlin plays 100% at the start of games so that the Sabres are up entering the 3rd period?  The last game was the first they had lost in regulation during last 2 years when up after 2 periods.    I've never had a boss tell me to "take it easy" or "take off shifts".  If there was work to be done, it was expected that I gave it my best.  And, trust me, I never made millions of dollars.   The guys on WGR are saying that they want to draft a receiver who openly stated that doesn't play hard if he thinks that the pass is going the other way.   Such prima donnas.

 

This whole thing just reads of sour grapes that you aren't a pro athlete.

Your boss may expect you to give your best 100% of your time, but that's because he's an idiot. No one can give their best 100% of the time, including you. You may think you are, but what you're actually giving is 100% of your current maximum best which is constantly waxing and waning depending on various factors in your mental and physical well-being. Giving your best at hour 16 of your 30th straight double shift is not the same as giving your best in a one hour client engagement that you've prepared for for weeks after a solid night sleep and a decent breakfast.

[etiennep99]

Just now, BullBuchanan said:

This whole thing just reads of sour grapes that you aren't a pro athlete.

Your boss may expect you to give your best 100% of your time, but that's because he's an idiot. No one can give their best 100% of the time, including you. You may think you are, but what you're actually giving is 100% of your current maximum best which is constantly waxing and waning depending on various factors in your mental and physical well-being. Giving your best at hour 16 of your 30th straight double shift is not the same as giving your best in a one hour client engagement that you've prepared for for weeks after a solid night sleep and a decent breakfast.

Of course, no one can truly give 100% all of the time.  The point is that you *try*.  You don't go into it thinking, I'm going to slack off a good bit when nobody is paying attention, but I'm going to turn it on when "it matters".    The Turtle beats out the Hare...Personally, I had no desire to be a pro athlete.   I knew it was never in the cards to be a great hockey player....And now to upset people's apple carts, the Bible says that we should always give an honest effort.  That's always been my personal goal.  But you know, results are in they eyes of the beholder sometimes.  So, I realize that some of my bosses have had other takes on my performance.  That's life.  I know myself better than others, and I know when I'm giving my best.

 

[spndnchz]

Wow. Tangent 

[7+6=13]

3 hours ago, LTS said:

It doesn't bother me that people make money.  Who can blame someone for making a good living because millions of people are willing to pay some amount of money for them to play a sport, act, etc. If someone can be part of a product or create a product that nets them incredible amounts of money and they are willing to do what it takes to be part of that product then good for them.

At the same time, if you buy into the product you are part of the product lifecycle and as such it really reduces any argument one might have against the product itself. In your example above your friends paying $13 doesn't seem like much, but it is a combined situation. If they are staunchly against actors and actresses they should not support the movies because they are supporting those people and their actions. It may only be $13, but it adds up.  If a person isn't willing to own their actions at a personal level then they are just expecting everyone else to shoulder the burden.  It's a cop out.  Putting it into context, if all the taxpayers in NYS spent $13 a year on movies and instead donated that $13 to the NYS Teachers Association to be directly distributed to one of the roughyl 205,000 public school teachers it would be enough to give each teacher an estimated $677.  It might not seem like a lot, but it will help offset what teachers shell out of pocket for teaching supplies.

Similarly, I don't want people to be injured but I don't place any greater value on what Von Miller goes through from an injury than anyone else.. It's dismissive of "normal" people to say it's not something they could do. There are people who are in physical therapy every day working to get back from an injury and most of them don't have massive paychecks to protect their financial status regardless of what happens.  Those people have added mental strains about how they pay their bills, or make a living if their leg or arm doesn't heal.

 

My wife is a teacher of 24 years in Charlotte NC.  They make approximately 60% less.than teachers in NYS.  So if you'd send us the $13, it would really help.  Yes, we pay for supplies too.  

[BullBuchanan]

15 minutes ago, etiennep99 said:

Of course, no one can truly give 100% all of the time.  The point is that you *try*.  You don't go into it thinking, I'm going to slack off a good bit when nobody is paying attention, but I'm going to turn it on when "it matters".    The Turtle beats out the Hare...Personally, I had no desire to be a pro athlete.   I knew it was never in the cards to be a great hockey player....And now to upset people's apple carts, the Bible says that we should always give an honest effort.  That's always been my personal goal.  But you know, results are in they eyes of the beholder sometimes.  So, I realize that some of my bosses have had other takes on my performance.  That's life.  I know myself better than others, and I know when I'm giving my best.

 

Could not possibly be more incorrect in the context of performers. If you try to give it 100% at the beginning, your 100% at the end will be diminished. It's not an arguable point. Sure starting pitchers could just throw heaters every pitch. I wonder why they don't?

Do you think touring musicians give it 100% every show they play? Absolutely not. They give 100% of 75% maybe 80. Otherwise they'd never make it to the next show.

This is such a wild take that it's hard for me to believe you really mean it.

[etiennep99]

15 minutes ago, BullBuchanan said:

Could not possibly be more incorrect in the context of performers. If you try to give it 100% at the beginning, your 100% at the end will be diminished. It's not an arguable point. Sure starting pitchers could just throw heaters every pitch. I wonder why they don't?

Do you think touring musicians give it 100% every show they play? Absolutely not. They give 100% of 75% maybe 80. Otherwise they'd never make it to the next show.

This is such a wild take that it's hard for me to believe you really mean it.

Starting pitchers don't throw heat 100% because you gotta mix up your pitches.  And when he gets tired, you bring in relievers like a Tom Henke who would throw mostly heat. Or a Mark Eichorn threw mostly side-arm with almost no heat; and yet he was amazingly effective.  

But please let me know in advance which concert is going to be great and which ones are going to suck because the artist is taking a night off.  Please tell me in advance which hockey games are going to have the players pulling Pierre-Luc Dubois  in Columbus shifts.  If you are not able to put on a good show, you're being dishonest with your fans who've payed top dollar for a ticket to the show.   You're stealing from them.  What's the answer?  Don't play 50 concerts when you can only do well in 20 concerts.   

[Big Guava]

2 hours ago, etiennep99 said:

Since you know NOTHING about me personally, it seems that you're the one prone to lazy thinking at the very least.

Sure I do...you talk a bunch of drivel and then disappear for a few months. Rinse and repeat.

Just extrapolating your posting style with everything else.

[LTS]

3 hours ago, etiennep99 said:

Studies have shown that it's seriously more difficult to be poor than rich.  Rich person: "oh sure ahead and fix the Porsche". Poor person: "Um, I know that my tires are bald and my battery needs constant jumping, but I have to buy baby food, and I'm out of tooth-paste." 

Indeed. Although one might argue that if you are not in a position to support a child you should not have one.  But the innate desires of humanity are to survive and procreate. The closer one is to not being able to achieve that goal the more stress will naturally be felt. Furthermore, not being able to take care of oneself leads to additional health issues.  A downward spiral to be certain.

1 hour ago, 7+6=13 said:

My wife is a teacher of 24 years in Charlotte NC.  They make approximately 60% less.than teachers in NYS.  So if you'd send us the $13, it would really help.  Yes, we pay for supplies too.  

Yep.  Although I'd suggest NC see what they can get with their own $13 tax.  My wife stopped teaching because when our daughter was born the cost of child care for two children was almost enough to wash out any salary benefit.  it made way more sense for my wife to not work and take care of the family at that point. Better quality of life for everyone.

[BullBuchanan]

1 hour ago, etiennep99 said:

Starting pitchers don't throw heat 100% because you gotta mix up your pitches.  And when he gets tired, you bring in relievers like a Tom Henke who would throw mostly heat. Or a Mark Eichorn threw mostly side-arm with almost no heat; and yet he was amazingly effective.  

But please let me know in advance which concert is going to be great and which ones are going to suck because the artist is taking a night off.  Please tell me in advance which hockey games are going to have the players pulling Pierre-Luc Dubois  in Columbus shifts.  If you are not able to put on a good show, you're being dishonest with your fans who've payed top dollar for a ticket to the show.   You're stealing from them.  What's the answer?  Don't play 50 concerts when you can only do well in 20 concerts.   

Like I said, literally every single one of them. That's the way it works my man. It works the exact same way with you too, you're just refusing to acknowledge that fact. You don't give 100% every minute of every day of your job. I already laid out why.

I'm playing two shows in one day (maybe 3) in a few weeks. I'm with absolute certainty giving none of them 100%, because it's impossible.

[spndnchz]

5 minutes ago, BullBuchanan said:

Like I said, literally every single one of them. That's the way it works my man. It works the exact same way with you too, you're just refusing to acknowledge that fact. You don't give 100% every minute of every day of your job. I already laid out why.

I'm playing two shows in one day (maybe 3) in a few weeks. I'm with absolute certainty giving none of them 100%, because it's impossible.

Enlighten me I don’t see how this effects this conversation. 

[7+6=13]

1 hour ago, LTS said:

 

Yep.  Although I'd suggest NC see what they can get with their own $13 tax.  My wife stopped teaching because when our daughter was born the cost of child care for two children was almost enough to wash out any salary benefit.  it made way more sense for my wife to not work and take care of the family at that point. Better quality of life for everyone.

I was kidding.  Yeah, we've been there.  Our boys are 1.5 years apart and we were paying over 16K a year for childcare when she was making 28K.  We made it through with the end goal of her getting to that retirement.  Crazy that we're 4 years away.

[WhenWillItEnd66]

20 hours ago, etiennep99 said:

The Sabres brass say that the goal is the Stanley Cup. But they admit that their defense is so bad that playing Dahlin 30 minutes a night at half-speed is better than playing any of their other d-men. They say "pick your spots".  Apparently, Von Miller says that he takes it easy at the start of games because his role is "to close out play" at the end of games.  What if Von Miller played hard in the 1st quarter, and when the Bills are up by 30 points in the 4th quarter, he can rest on the bench?  How about Dahlin plays 100% at the start of games so that the Sabres are up entering the 3rd period?  The last game was the first they had lost in regulation during last 2 years when up after 2 periods.    I've never had a boss tell me to "take it easy" or "take off shifts".  If there was work to be done, it was expected that I gave it my best.  And, trust me, I never made millions of dollars.   The guys on WGR are saying that they want to draft a receiver who openly stated that doesn't play hard if he thinks that the pass is going the other way.   Such prima donnas.

 

Ok, i know a lot of folks are not liking this post. There are parts that i do LOVE.

A player should be playing 110% every time they are on the field/ice/pitch whatever. THAT'S WHAT THEY ARE THERE TO DO!!!!!!!! This is a good reason why the Sabres are deep in the suck. They skate around and do not burn it coming back or even on a dump and chase. If they are too tired, then that is a coaching issue!!! If they do not trust a player then that is a management issue. Everytime a Sabre is on the ice during a game, i expect 110% as a fan. If they are not going to do that then they should not be on this team, plain and simple. I am not talking about a player stuck on the ice for 90 seconds cause they cannot change. It has become 100% acceptable for Sabres to play at 70% speed and thats a huge issue why they are where they are. A paid athlete should always give their best when they are playing. 

[Weave]

Just last season, Stephen Stamkos said in an interview that “the NHL is an 85% league”.  Context being, players pace themselves so they are ready to give maximum effort in the playoffs.

So the arguments above are wasted energy. It doesn’t matter your opinion, or how you feel it should be.  A star player has come out and stated reality.  Players don’t give 100% during the regular season so the they have 100% to give in the playoffs.

Unless you are the Sabres.  They are saving it for the golf course.

[Big Guava]

15 hours ago, 7+6=13 said:

My wife is a teacher of 24 years in Charlotte NC.  They make approximately 60% less.than teachers in NYS.  So if you'd send us the $13, it would really help.  Yes, we pay for supplies too.  

Yeah teachers in Southern states would be better off financially flipping burgers a lot of times. It's a joke.

 

Lots of teachers in NYS make more than 100K a year.

Edited March 7 by Big Guava

[That Aud Smell]

15 hours ago, BullBuchanan said:

Could not possibly be more incorrect in the context of performers. If you try to give it 100% at the beginning, your 100% at the end will be diminished. It's not an arguable point. Sure starting pitchers could just throw heaters every pitch. I wonder why they don't?

Do you think touring musicians give it 100% every show they play? Absolutely not. They give 100% of 75% maybe 80. Otherwise they'd never make it to the next show.

The bolded is key here, IMO. People who perform professionally need to manage their energy outputs.

Wrt the musician angle, which I think is very apt: As a younger fella (and even a few times as an older guy), I have seen a band perform 4 or more times on a single tour -- often in quick succession (not a Deadhead, but something like that). And it's absolutely true. A performer's level of energy will vary from night to night. It's the mark of true professionals when every show you see from a band has a certain level of baseline excellence. There's a band we saw in New England, two upstate New York shows (including one at Artpark), and then Cleveland a few years back. And we all agreed: That Artpark show was special. They were really bringing it (for reasons unknown).

15 hours ago, etiennep99 said:

If you are not able to put on a good show, you're being dishonest with your fans who've payed top dollar for a ticket to the show.   You're stealing from them.  What's the answer?  Don't play 50 concerts when you can only do well in 20 concerts.   

This is a weird take.

13 hours ago, BullBuchanan said:

It works the exact same way with you too, you're just refusing to acknowledge that fact. You don't give 100% every minute of every day of your job.

If we're being honest with ourselves, this is true for all of us in all facets of our lives. To varying degrees, I'm sure.

Am I always being the best husband I can be? Always giving 100%? NFW. Sometimes, I'm just killing it. Sometimes, I'm far less than I should be, or could be. And then there's a lot of in between. When I go to worship my God, am I always as tuned in as I should be? Sometimes, I have a wonderful experience and come out re-energized by my faith. Sometimes, I keep wanting to check a soccer score on my phone (English Premier League, no doubt).

13 hours ago, spndnchz said:

Enlighten me I don’t see how this effects this conversation. 

They're making a solid point.

41 minutes ago, Weave said:

Just last season, Stephen Stamkos said in an interview that “the NHL is an 85% league”.  Context being, players pace themselves so they are ready to give maximum effort in the playoffs.

This is the only way, I think, for people who professionally exert themselves in a performative way that is physically and emotionally draining.

There's a reason that the touring bands of days gone by (and probably still many now) manage(d) themselves with drugs to get them up and then drugs to get them down. It's damn difficult to do on your own, if you're laying it all out at every single show. They need to learn how to manage their energy -- otherwise, they end up tearing their bodies down with cocaine and codeine pills.

[PerreaultForever]

The salaries are what they are, but compared to corporate CEOs they make peanuts. It's all relative, and if the market and supply and demand allow it, then they get paid. If the cost of tickets etc. goes so high nobody goes, then the market collapses. Too many people love sports for any of this to change in my lifetime. Good for them to make whatever they can. Heck, I get paid more than I've ever been paid in my life for contract work again, because of supply and demand. They got nobody. That's capitalism. 

So I don't begrudge them the money, but I will hate them for a lack of effort. Thus, I hate Skinner as an example.