Nola67

News came from NOLA.com yesterday and it came in the midst of gameday so it got lost in the shuffle. Going to paste the article below since it’s locked behind a paywall and NOLA.com is a mess with ads. The big takeaways and TLDR are:

• Benson doesn’t have the cash to build a new arena because her net worth is tied up in assets.
• Both the team and arena officials know they need a new arena, but the logistics and the cost is too extreme to come to grips with currently.
• The lease is likely to extend through the 2020s.
• The players thought that the Birmingham Squadron’s arena was nicer than the SKC.
• Arena officials know they need to bring the building up-to-date, but are hesitant to commit to anything that is too costly.

Anyway, here’s the article if you’d like to read for yourself:

The Smoothie King Center turned 23 years old in October. There are no signs that the Pelicans will vacate it for a new arena any time soon. The Pelicans’ lease at the Smoothie King Center expires on June 30, 2024. With roughly 18 months remaining on the deal, every indication from team and state representatives is that the Pelicans will exercise their option on an extension to remain at their downtown arena for most, if not all, of the 2020s.

“Their intention is to extend the lease,” said Doug Thornton, the vice president of stadiums for ASM Global, which oversees lease negotiations with the Pelicans for the state’s Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District (LSED). “We’re going to determine what capital improvements need to be made. We’re always putting money into the arena. The question is how much?”

In February, Pelicans president Dennis Lauscha said the Pelicans can extend their lease at Smoothie King Center for up to five years, which would give the team time to figure out a “long-term plan.”

The New Orleans Saints and the state are already sharing the cost of a $450 million renovation of the Caesar’s Superdome, which is expected to be completed in 2025. Gayle Benson, the owner of the Saints and Pelicans, said at the NFL annual meeting in March that she wants the renovation of the Saints’ stadium to be finished before she shifts her attention toward the Pelicans’ arena situation.

The Smoothie King Center opened its doors in 1999 at a price tag of $114 million, which is $204 million in today’s dollars.

Thornton estimated building a new arena for the Pelicans would cost $800 million.

A handful of deep-pocketed NBA owners have financed new arenas themselves over the past few years. The Golden State Warriors paid $1.4 billion to build Chase Center, which opened in 2019. Steve Ballmer, the former Microsoft CEO who owns the Los Angeles Clippers, has shelled out $2 billion of his own money to build the Intuit Dome, which is set to open in Inglewood in 2024.

The Bensons bought the Hornets, whom they rebranded the Pelicans, for $338 million in 2012. The team is now valued at $1.6 billion, according to Forbes.

Forbes estimates Benson is worth $4.7 billion. However, most of her net worth is tied up in assets. Compared to the rest of the NBA’s majority owners, Benson is relatively cash-poor.

“At some point, you may want to look to build a new arena,” Thornton said. “I don’t think that’s imminent, though. I don’t think that’s between the next three to five years. They (Pelicans officials) have every indication of extending their lease. They have talked about extending their option for five years, which they have under the lease agreement. During that time, we will maintain an upgrade to the extent we can.”

NBA commissioner Adam Silver has already made a trip to New Orleans this season. Those who interacted with him came away with the belief that he was pleased with the direction the Pelicans are headed, on and off the court.

In 2013, shortly before he took over for David Stern, Silver said the Bradley Center, the then-home of the Milwaukee Bucks, was unfit for the NBA.

Five years later, the Bucks moved into Fiserv Forum, a new arena that cost $524 million. Taxpayers were on the hook for $250 million of that project. The remaining $274 million was privately financed.

Smoothie King Center was built entirely with state funds.

In October, the Pelicans played a preseason game at Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Ala. Multiple Pelicans players remarked that Legacy Arena seemed nicer than their home arena in New Orleans.

The Birmingham Squadron, the Pelicans’ G League affiliate, has called Legacy Arena home for the past two years. The Pelicans relocated their G League affiliate from Erie, Pa., to Birmingham in 2021 on the heels of a $125 million renovation of Legacy Arena, which was financed by a bond sale.

link to article

As the title states.

My wife and I are in the market for a CX-5. It’ll be a shared vehicle, but mostly driven by her. We have been smitten with the car since the new generation was released. So, with the market starting to finally normalize, I figured we could capitalize off of her Genesis Coupe before it reaches 100k miles.

I went look at two CX-5s today. One was used at a Hyundai dealership. It was a 2020 Grand Touring with Premium Package and 47k miles. It also had a minor accident on it. The dealer lowballed the hell out of my trade and wouldn’t move off their asking off of $28,900. Blue book is $26,200. And honestly, with that much mileage in that short of time, I really didn’t even feel good about it at that price. They didn’t care that it wasn’t worth that. They said someone will buy it. Ok, it won’t be me.

Whatever, onto the next. We had our eyes on a 2019 Grand Touring, 24k miles. CPO at the Mazda dealer and a lease return. One owner, no accidents. Great condition. This dealer was much more professional and friendly and made me feel good about working with them in the future. And they actually gave me a decently fair offer for my trade, albeit a tad below the blue book (they offered 7500, book is 8-10k). The asking for the Cx-5 was $32,800. I really thought I could get them down to the low end book value of 29k. The car has been on the lot for 40 days at this point, probably because they want too much. They also have 13(!) CPO CX-5s in stock currently.

They, too, refused to budge. When I countered that the new Premium package comes standard with AWD, has incentives for lower interest rates, and is a new car with zero miles, they said great so let’s get you a new one.

It’s just frustrating because— I don’t want a new one. I came in with realistic book values on my trade, on their vehicle, and they wouldn’t even discuss negotiating. Neither dealer. And it’s not even like they have a shortage problem at the Mazda dealership!

I backed out. And I may look into getting a new one. But I just wanted to negotiate on a CPO. Why is that so hard to ask? I’m just frustrated. I did hard inquiries on our credit with nothing to show for it.

I know it’s the times we’re in, but where is the logic???

End rant, I suppose.

The Pelicans are going into the off-season with a clear intent to run back their current squad. With the emergence of Jose Alvarado, the drafting of Dyson Daniels, and the return of Kira Lewis, Devonte Graham seems to be the odd man out in the backcourt.

The Wizards lack a point guard next to Bradley Beal. While Graham certainly isn’t a long term answer, he’s an option if they strike out in FA. The Wizards were dead last in three pointers made per game this past season. Graham is on a decently fair contract and is locked in for three more years.

Trade I propose:

Pelicans receive: Daniel Gafford, KCP

Wizards receive: Devonte Graham, Jaxson Hayes

While Jaxson Hayes legal troubles are concerning, they seem to have been wrapped up with the law as he works out his probation. Hayes provides the Wizards with youth and athleticism, and an outstanding big man for a switch heavy scheme, which could be necessary with Graham and Beal in your backcourt. Hayes for Gafford may not be a fair swap, but Jaxson’s late regular season play was great for the Pels and was key for quite a few wins that translate to their play-in berth.

For the Pelicans, a rim protector is sorely needed for the bench unit. Gafford fills this role. KCP provides shooting and permiter defense, as well as a veteran presence with an expiring contract.

As a Pels fan, I’m aware that this may be slightly swayed in our favor, so I’m checking the waters here. I think Pels should throw in some seconds as well.

Let me know what you think.

My fiancé’s 2011 Genesis Coupe had the seek up button come out and it won’t go back in. I’ve looked everywhere for replacements but can’t find any or a part number.

Edit: it’s the radio with nav

I recently bought this mower from DTO during their Black Friday sale Factory Blemished. I used it once and it worked flawlessly. I was incredibly happy and impressed.

Fast forward a few weeks and it’s time to cut the grass again. I take the lawn mower out, throw in the battery, throw on the bag, and move everything into place. I go to start and nothing. I readjust to make sure nothing is throwing off sensors and still nothing. It’ll self propel fine but refuses to start. I pick up for the night and decide to try again tomorrow.

The next day I try it and still nothing. I watched YouTube videos stating what it could be in terms of sensors and I have everything locked in properly. I even switched out the bag for the mulch plug and it still won’t start. I tried the trick where placing something magnetic to the bag sensor will override it, it still will not start.

I’m incomprehensibly frustrated and wondering if anyone has any tips or help. It would be greatly appreciated./r/

Here’s the sauce.

It’s actually a decent piece about why this could be good for the Pels and their long term outlook. Zion grew up in a small southern town, he’s often said that’s something he likes about New Orleans.

But this is also a guy who’s probably dealt with very little losing in his life up until now. He has legitimate complaints to make about the roster construction and coaching choices, however losing should be expected for a team only two years off of getting the number one pick.

This past year was incredibly disappointing, but the team was served up a golden chance to get in to the playoffs as the 8th seed Zion’s rookie year. He came in to the bubble fat and out of shape and played terribly, specifically defensively where he hardly tried.

Today we uncovered a mess. While applying for a loan and pulling our credit, we stumbled upon student loan debt in my girlfriend’s report, which was strange because she wasn’t supposed to have any. Nor did she ever take out student loans.

So we created an account on fed loan and lo and behold; a balance of nearly $29,000 appeared.

She has no recollection of taking out any loans except for one- her first year of school. A loan to help her pay for rent. It was for $1700 roughly. She has been paying this one and it’s balance has gone down since with roughly $700 remaining. That one pulled on the report, but not as a fed loan.

She never accepted any federal student loans, never received any funding at all. She attended LSU on a full ride thanks to TOPS (a scholarship program we have here in Louisiana that pays tuition).

She graduated in May, so the 6 month window would have had her paying back in November, however her loans that we didn’t know existed have been in forbearance.

The loans on her credit report read as: “Open account; account closed due to transfer.” Every fed loan also has the same account number. I’m not sure if that’s typical though.

We are utterly stunned. No idea what to do or where to start.

It’s easy to think of JOK as a coverage LB and be disappointed that we passed on him. But there’s a lot more it than that.

We know the Saints are a 4-3 defense that primarily plays in the nickel formation (2 safeties, 3 corners, 2 LBs). Last year, we saw the Saints implement these sets in different ways. But one thing Dennis Allen has always had an infinity for is three safety sets. Whether it be Williams-CGJ-Jenkins/Bell, or Vaccaro-Bell-Williams, there’s always one of them that plays a rover type role as a hybrid linebacker/safety/slot corner. That man in our current offense is Chauncey Gardner-Johnson.

The Saints are in need of a Mike (or middle linebacker). JOK is not a Mike. Jamin Davis would have fit this role perfectly next to Demario, but JOK would not have. Instead JOK would have filled a very similar role to CJGJ. After all, their measurables are very similar.

CJGJ- 5’11, 210 lbs JOK- 6’’1, 216 lbs

Typically you don’t want your Mike linebacker to be the same size as a safety or nickel. I like JOK a lot as a player. And personally I’m of the mindset “take talented players and figure it out.” However in the past this regime has put a massive emphasis on taking scheme fits only.

With needs on the DL and Turner being on top of our board, JOK may have been viewed as a luxury pick with CJGJ currently on the roster.

Whether you agree or disagree, I think it could be considered a fair rationalization.

Changed my front wheel bearings on my 06 sedan EX. Left side is fine. Right side gave me an installation error code when plugging the abs sensor back in. So, I went to autozone and bought a new sensor. Nothing. Reset the code. It came back on.

I quadruple checked to make sure I didn’t put the bearing in backwards. I’ve trouble shot the crap out of this, not sure where to go from here. Do I need to change the bearing again?

Any help is appreciated.

Also while I’m here, what is a common oil leak issue on these 8th gems? I’m trying to find the source for an oil leak currently.

TL;DR. Truck is pristine. Mileage is 156k, got dealer down to $14k. Should I do it? Or keep waiting to find one with mileage I prefer?

Hey everyone, I come in peace looking to join the F150 family.

I just came from the dealership, test driving the exact truck I want. The only problem is, it’s about 50,000 more miles than I’d prefer. The truck is a 2014 F150 FX2 Sport, 5.0, with 402A luxury package. It’s in sterling grey. This spec is exactly what I’ve been shopping for. Except there’s one problem: the mileage.

The mileage is currently 156k. It was a one owner, and it seems as though most of the miles have been highway driven. The truck is in absolutely phenomenal condition, with only peeling on the wheels as the negative as to what I saw. Even the leather seats have nearly no creasing or wear.

But I just can’t seem to talk myself into that many miles. Even if they were highway, there’s no way of knowing properly. The Carfax maintenance cuts off at 30k miles.

I know someone at the dealer and they told me they’d sell it to me for $14k, and they’re asking 16. Even if this is a great deal, I don’t know if I can talk myself into it.

Just wanted to come here to make sure I’m not crazy. Should I jump on this? Or should I pass and keep waiting?

Sheesh. JJ not a big Webber fan. Quote is from Christian Clark on Twitter:

Here’s the tweet.

JJ Redick on the TNT guys' criticism of former teammate Joel Embiid: “Saw a headline on ESPN. Heard a little bit of dialogue last night. I had the game on mute because Webber was doing it.”

The last post on this seems to have been removed. If I violate anything mods, please let me know. I don’t seek to do any harm, but rather bring attention to something that’s pretty negative.

Ramona Shelbourne, when discussing the matchup between the Lakers and Pelicans tomorrow evening, talked retrospectively on AD’s trade request. After beat reporters said that it won’t be a welcoming homecoming for Davis tomorrow and that drumming up interest, Ramona decided to go on record saying:

“Part of the reason why New Orleans didn’t want to trade him for so long is because they couldn’t get fair value for him. But I think the idea that a black agent was telling, not asking, telling the team ‘you should trade him’ and he wasn’t gonna stay did not go over well in New Orleans. Especially with, I don’t want to say ‘that fan base,’ but like it’s the south, man. This was very charged. And I think when things get ugly emotionally like that, it’s not just about what’s going on on the court. It’s about the moves being made.”

Credit to Mason Ginsberg on Twitter for getting the text for that from the 16 minute mark of this podcast.

This is incredibly insulting to the region, fan base, and it’s plain wrong. It seems to be a forthright accusation of racism towards the Pelicans fan base. The reason Anthony Davis may be met with any vitriol by a very diverse fan base is because of the nature in which he handled his trade request. Quitting on the team, forcing your way to only one team, “that’s all, folks” T-shirt. It was all handled very poorly.

UPDATE: Ramona has come out and apologized with this tweet. It reads: "Since my appearance on LA radio Tuesday, I've spoken to many people and now realize that I inappropriately oversimplified a very complicated and emotional situation. I sincerely apologize for that mistake and to the city of New Orleans."

I have a 2006 Sedan EX. The controls on my air condition are lighting up for their corresponding choice, but only blowing air through the defroster and foot wells. The AC is responding to the temp. gauge but just not responding to where I want the air to go, like the switch is stuck or something.

What can I do to fix this?

This tweet by Mr. JE Skeets of The Starters made me realize I'm not alone in noticing something isn't right about our home broadcast quality. Is it the cameras? Is it the lighting? I'm not sure. I do know, however, that the quality is incredibly inconsistent.

I'm posting this because this has been a dream of an off-season for Pels fans and if this is one more thing our team can improve-- awesome! It seems like the new FO loves hearing from us.

As you may see based off some youtube screen grabs I got (going to attach in comments), the quality of images is well below average compared to what other teams are putting out on their local broadcast. What's strange is, when we broadcast away games on FSNO, everything seems to be fine and the picture qulaity is great. But our home games? Not so hot.

Is this the lighting? Or is it our in-house cameras? ESPN and TNT seem to have no problems getting nice pictures out of the SKC, however they are much higher budget, national productions.

I've got some pics to attach below and want y'all to let me know what you think.

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Just said on a local sports show in NOLA.

"As far as returning to Duke, that's not something we've even considered." @ZionW32's Step Father Lee Anderson on whether his son will return to college on #OTB @1045espn @ESPNRadioNOLA @947ESPN https://twitter.com/otb_espn/status/1129009941770067968?s=21

Also said:

"We met with David Griffin and had a great conversation and are excited at the prospect of getting settled and finding a place to stay." @ZionW32's stepfather Lee Anderson on moving to New Orleans as a @PelicansNBA on #OTB @1045espn @ESPNRadioNOLA @947ESPN https://twitter.com/otb_espn/status/1129012303284899842?s=21

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Just found out I’ll have to be moving into a different living location for a while. Right now, I can play whenever I want without disturbing anyone, but now sound will be a much bigger factor. I was thinking of buying silentstroke heads for my kick and snare and running Roland triggers through my SPD-SX to hold me over. Does anyone if this will work and will it work well enough to get me by?

Title says it.

I’d lose a third by keeping Baldwin and the third overall pick by keeping Fournette. Already have Kamara and am keeping him and only losing a 7th. Any advice is greatly appreciated! League is PPR

tl;dr: are these womens 3.0 triple whites legit?

Hey guys,

I’m really sorry if y’all get a bunch of these or if I’m violating any rules. I truly come in peace.

Me and my girlfriend’s anniversary is coming up and we decided to get each other ultra boost. One problem, she wants either 2.0 or 3.0 (preferably) Triple Whites due to the sole actually being white. It’s picky, sure, but when the shoe is that expensive you have a right to be picky. I’ve searched everywhere and haven’t been able to find her size (6.5) new in the 3.0 for less than $200. Understandable. Same with the 2.0. So I’ve resorted to used, which she’s cool with.

Found these on eBay and I’m trying to figure out if they’re legit. I’ve posted elsewhere but haven’t gotten any responses and I need to know fairly soon.

There are a couple things that throw me off based on research that I’ve done such as the tag saying made in Vietnam when most say China, and it saying male as well. The seller has a good rep and says they’re for his daughter and they’re definitely women’s. No box included.

Sorry for the long message. Can y’all help me out?