Post by TinyTimPig on Aug 8, 2022 22:50:13 GMT -5
An exclusive sit-down interview with TMBSL's most misunderstood GM. Ladies and gentleman, I present to you...kingb4yah, in their own words.
1. First and foremost, tell us about your introduction to our sim league, TMBSL. What's your previous experience with sim leagues and how did you discover our little corner of the internet?
I don’t recall whether there was a link posted(After D5 went down) or whether a Gm sent me a invite but however it went down it was the the most complicated league I’ve ever been in but I played mostly in the early 2000's and stopped before the new fbb game came out and just recently restarted playing again about 3-4 years ago and it’s a lot different now then how it was played back then by us, but think I’m learning from a good group of gms and I’m adjusting.
2. It sounds like you have a previous relationship with Billyking, arguably the most hated GM in TMBSL. Tell us a little about your thoughts on Billyking, and share a bit about the history that you two share.
No homo, never been in a relationship with Billy , but he was my commissioner at D5 which wasn’t a bad league, but there is something about Billy I can’t quite put words to describe it, well maybe I can.. I would imagine it feels like having a STD that’s always going to be a part of you so I completely understand the hate because its there and you can’t get rid of it like me joining Tmbsl after leaving D5 and there he goes still around….
3. You described yourself in shout as a "Black Jew". Taking you at your word here, that must have created a pretty unique upbringing. Can you share how you feel your experiences may have been different than most of the white middle-class GMs that make up TMBSL?
I usually put “Black jew” for you guys to understand better but I’m a Hebrew Israelite and I just recently started this walk about 9-10 years ago, but anyway the “jewish” people you see in Israel stole our Torah and our identity hence the Ish after Jew. My kids will be the ones to tell more but in my 9 years here are some changes: had to learn Hebrew. Changed worship to Saturdays no longer Sundays. I cant work and must rest on Saturdays and need a note to give to HR at every job making sure I'll never work on sat. I can’t buy or sell on Saturdays. No Christmas, or any holiday’s but we have our own festivals just practice like passover , sukkout, Yom Kippur , Hanukkah etc, plus I can’t eat meat and cheese together at a meal, so no cheese burgers, No Pork, meat must be kosher , I have to wear Fringes, Pray 3 times a day, sing my prayers, its been life changing simply put, nothing like middle class average folks.
4. You have four kids currently, a fifth on the way, and told your wife that you hope to have a total of seven. What made you decide on seven as the number, and should we expect that your devotion to sim league may take a hit when your fifth (and eventual sixth and seventh) is born?
Here’s a little Hebrew/Gematria lesson on why….
So, sheva, the Hebrew word for seven, comes from a root which means complete. The number seven represents physical completion.
There are 7 days in the week, 7 notes on the musical scale and 7 directions (left, right, up, down, forward, back and center). The rainbow with its seven colors, 7 is the Sabbath Day when Yahuah rested and his work was complete, The body, according to our Sages, is composed of seven major parts, namely: head, torso, right arm, left arm, right leg, left leg, and the Brit Mila.
I’ll find time somewhere some how, sim leagues are like an escape for me so I’ll find time.
5. Do you consider yourself a big basketball fan in real life? If so, who is your favorite team and favorite player (both current and all time)? Any other sports/athletes you follow closely?
Not as much anymore but ya I used to be. The Dallas Mavericks are my favorite team since 2000 and before then the Orlando Magic / Phoenix Suns or wherever Penny went.. as he is my all time favorite player but sad he never got to be the player he could have been but then I saw Dirk play and he became my favorite and the mavs became my team cause he stuck there so long the mavs just stuck as my team even after he left and we got lucky on Luka but I barely even watch anymore its all highlights and recaps nowadays.
I watch football more and probably because its on Sundays when I don’t work but favorite team is packers and 2011 was best year of my life Mavs and Packers won. Could nobody say shit to me for a whole year lol
6. How did you end up as a Machine Operator at Dixon Ticonderoga?
Well I was as Machine Operator for acgo for about 10 years then I quit before moving to Georgia where I hope to buy land soon and start my own business or something but I came down here in December filled out a couple applications for machine Operator and December 27 I was hired and put on 90 day trial and now I've been working here 8 months
7. Now, let's talk a bit about your GMing style. What statistics or attributes do you value in a player?
Really depends on position mostly and what ever my team sucks at ill go hunt for a player that might specialize in that. As far as overall if it’s a C/PF I’m big on rebounding and defense, but seems like they have to be able to score in this league, but as far as guards they must be outside focused with good handles/low TO and I have to have one dog who carries the scoring and his ratings usually don’t matter other then scoring period.
8. Without revealing too much, tell us a bit about your free agency strategy. You've offered long-term contracts to some players that some GMs might consider "under the radar" - John Brownlee, Isaiah Morris, Josh Hall, Shannon Brown, for example. What stood out to you about these guys?
Well the thing was early on I was hitting on some guys and would lose them the next year, so it’s more of a low risk , high reward if I ever hit again but with my team those guys if anything are above average third stringers at under MLE for several years and a player like Shannon shows he can score and is a nice backup in case my main scorer goes out. But I look usually for players that have good ratings but in a loved team and never really got a chance to get minutes , vs here where they are solid backups.
9. Your depth chart formatting has caused some controversy. Can you share a bit about your thought process when setting depth charts and choice not to use the dropdown macro that eric spent hours building?
It’s more about convenience and what I’ve always been comfortable with in past.
I usually do my DC on my phone and I start it on notepad so i can edit it as I go and then I copy and paste it to reply. I do it this way because I can’t ever finish it on one sitting as I’m Machine operating while trying to do my dc. Plus I can copy and paste from roster page to my notepad etc, I’ve tried eric micro (No homo) but I lose my editing whenever I tried doing it that way because my phone loses the web page etc.
10. Have you developed opinions about any GMs outside of Billyking? Positive, negative, or otherwise?
Nope not really seems like a mature group of GMs compared to other leagues I’ve been in and helps I’m rarely around for the chats.
