The Squeaky Wheel Got the Grease, But It's Going to Fall Off: The End of the Road for the Pacers

The Squeaky Wheel Gets the Grease: that's what my grandmother always told me when I was growing up, and she certainly led by example. However, the important point she taught me was that you shouldn't abuse the opportunity to "squeak." Paul George and the Indiana Pacers did just that by complaining about the foul differential about the Heat in their post-game press conferences after Game 4. That wasn't the reason you guys got blown out, Paul, and there were really only one or two bad calls that didn't change the game meaningfully at all.

To be clear, the reason the Heat fouled way less than the Pacers was because they played with much more intensity, effort, focus, and just general crispness. I know it's a popular trope to say that LeBron gets superstar calls, and he does sometimes; however, far more often, LeBron doesn't get the same kind of touch fouls or other types of loose ball or open court fouls that other players (far less "superstar" caliber players) get. Kevin Durant seems to get a heck of a lot more calls than LeBron, especially on his drives. This is because Durant is simply less of a physical presence, and so fouls look worse against him. LeBron is such an athletic freak that some of those touch fouls barely bother him or alter the course of a shot; but, when the tables are turned, those touch fouls go against LeBron.

Four out of the five fouls called against LeBron were absolutely egregious:



After watching the referees needlessly ruin Game 5 with terrible foul calls against LeBron, it's pretty clear that there must have been some motivation to rectify the foul disparity at any cost. Once LeBron picked up his third foul and had to sit out a large portion of the first half, the refs relentlessly continued calling stupid fouls against him. The charge call against Paul George who literally was on one leg having leaped in front of LeBron off-balance is a textbook blocking foul in that scenario. Meanwhile, with the Pacers only even somewhat successful strategy (publicly and privately) being to frustrate LeBron with Stephenson's childish antics, the refs chose not to call obvious flops by Stephenson (especially after the 5th foul was called):




How this play wasn't called a flop is crazy to me; Stephenson should have been given at least three technical fouls over the course of the game and been ejected after the second, but that didn't happen. The NBA needs to send a message that such antics will not be tolerated because all it does is tarnish the brand and product that they are putting on the court. (Yes, Heat players have been guilty of flopping at times too, but nothing this terrible and this persistent accompanied by other childish antics). At very least, Stephenson needs to be fined twice for this game, and should possibly even be suspended for a game (and might be if this were not the postseason or if Frank Vogel had any control over his team). Maybe in his game off, he can fly to New York and practice tying his shoes with JR Smith while they blow in each other's ears.

Heat fans are certainly not going to get any sympathy about calls, but that narrative is backwards and broken. LeBron is hurt by the things that make him a superstar (his athleticism, speed, and size) more than the fringe benefits of being a superstar (getting "superstar" calls). At crucial times, he doesn't get the calls that a "superstar" would get. That would be OK normally, but there's been a huge overcorrection and overcompensation for his perceived superstar treatment. Time to get back to reality, Ed Malloy and company...

No Donovan on World Cup Squad

The lack of Landon Donovan on the U.S. Squad for the World Cup in Brazil this summer will be strange for U.S. Soccer fans who are used to him being the face of the sport in the country for the last decade or so. Klinsmann really made quite a bold call here, but ultimately he may have made the correct one. He wanted people who were hungry; and between Donovan's age, his sabbatical from the sport this winter, and apparent "sluggishness" in training, Klinsmann doubted not only Donovan's fit within his plan for the World Cup, but also his waning athletic ability and leadership. He didn't need a figurehead for the new era of U.S. Soccer, but instead wanted to find a new face for the team because Donovan simply wouldn't cut it if they wanted anything more than Pyrrhic victories.

It's still quite possible that a player gets injured or something in the run-up to the first game against Ghana, and Donovan gets called up. This simply isn't the U.S. team we're used to seeing though, with no Onyewu, no Bocanegra, and plenty of other veteran mainstays of the team no longer on the squad.

Donovan will be missed, and will always be a U.S. Soccer legend:

So, You Just Graduated...Now What?

So, Yosepha wrote generally about what to start thinking about now that you've graduated from college and how the InGenius Prep former admissions officers and graduate coaches can help you chart out and execute on any of your goals whether they involve law school, medical school, business school, or any number of careers.

If you need help with your resume, interview preparation, cover letter writing, or just general advice, the InGenius team has someone incredibly qualified and talented who can help you on a moment's notice. We have helped students get jobs in law, finance, consulting, film, talent representation, and dozens of other professions. Similarly, we've helped students get into medical school, law school, business school, Ph.D programs, and masters programs in a variety of different fields.

A Response to Racial Claims About Admissions

This article was originally posted on the InGenius Prep Brain Blog in response to Professor Tim Groseclose's claims about California public universities knowingly violating state laws prohibiting affirmative action:

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While Professor Tim Groseclose is probably onto something by stating that public universities in California and elsewhere are violating a state law that prohibits affirmative action on the basis of racial difference, what he is articulating is more obvious and much less invidious than his data and inside experience reveals. The basic idea behind the most recent and most prominent constitutional challenges to affirmative action policies (challenges to schools like the University of Michigan and University of Michigan Law School’s holistic and “plus factor” admissions processes) is that race can be considered as part of a holistic review of a potential candidate because it serves a compelling governmental interest. While the Supreme Courts’ advocates of affirmative action policies are split on what exactly that compelling interest is (diversity? cross-racial understanding? access to paths of leadership?), it’s pretty clear that holistic review that includes race is at least constitutionally acceptable.

The state law in question here, like the Michigan amendment that was recently challenged, is the opposite situation. In these cases, the Supreme Court has held that it is constitutional for a state to express the policy prerogative that affirmative action should be prohibited in its public universities. I’m not familiar with Groseclose’s political preference on affirmative action and I’m not taking a stance on the issue myself in this article, but the data that Groseclose posts on his website and that is available elsewhere is pretty compelling that there is an empirically proven trend in these “holistic reviews” that tend to discriminate against or in favor of particular groups. For instance, Asian-Americans seem to be capped at a certain level at many schools at a certain “quota.” And, as Groseclose claims, black students are “illegally” (to use his words) given a boost in the admissions process. Several of former admissions officers at InGenius Prep have denied that this sort of “lying” (as Groseclose calls it) goes on, but acknowledge that the data reveals a discernible, yet not so surprising trend. Moreover, although I don’t have personal experience in an admissions office, in any kind of holistic review I’ve ever engaged in, there have been certain factors that I have privileged to the prejudice of others, so this isn’t necessarily “lying” in my mind.

Of course, this type of quota has been ruled unconstitutional since the Supreme Court’s decision in Bakke, but it seems to still happen in practice. This is the kind of tongue-in-cheek “not affirmative action,” but really affirmative action that Groseclose is trying to reveal. For most people familiar with the law on this issue, the fact that holistic review can often skew heavily in the direction of certain factors like race is a foregone conclusion; it’s like saying politics is heavily influenced by campaign funds and political contributions. Then again, some of the world’s most prominent scholars–such as Harvard Law School’s Larry Lessig–tackle this seemingly obvious subject, so maybe it’s not quite as obvious as I’m assuming.

The moral of the story for applicants here is to understand that holistic review is generally the norm, at least on a de facto basis, regardless of what state you are in or what state the school you are applying to is in. The admissions experts at InGenius Prep know how to make you stand out in such a holistic review, no matter your creed, color, interests, preferences, or background.

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Heat-Pacers Series Update

Miami hasn't looked like its dominant self against the Pacers. Wade's been good, but LeBron is due for a Game 6 Boston style LeBron game, and Bosh has been mediocre.

 The Pacers having their "overcoming adversity" moments in the earlier rounds of the Playoffs, but ultimately making it to the Eastern Conference Finals was something I feared because it would give them a renewed sense of confidence that they would be able to actually beat the Heat despite all their recent struggles. That's what makes Game 3 so important. The Heat got the split they wanted, and now they need to put the Pacers backs against the walls and put them in crisis mode. While the Heat have gone down in plenty of series (including against the Pacers and the Big Three era Celtics), the Pacers probably don't have the same level of resiliency against a world-class team like the Heat.

I expect LeBron to bring a sense of urgency to protecting home court, which the Heat wastefully squandered when the Pacers had all but handed it to them at the close of the regular season. A Greg Oden appearance, even for a few minutes, might help to spell Haslem and Birdman and give the Heat the little bit of boost they need to feel like they can compete with the Pacers size. The bigs, including Oden, don't need to be impact players; they simply need to box out and grab defensive rebounds so that LeBron, Wade, Bosh and the other role players don't feel like they need to take on the incredibly onerous burden of grabbing all the boards and bodying up big guys like West and Hibbert.

Estate Planning: Issues with Trustee Selection

There are several potential tax issues to consider when selecting a trustee that is a beneficiary of the trust or the spouse. If your son/daughter is named trustee (or co-trustee), a distribution made to anyone else could be considered a taxable gift unless there is an ascertainable standard built into the trust instrument. This is a situation we would want to avoid. Because the trust would likely be set up in such a way that the child could authorize distributions to herself as trustee or co-trustee, the trust might be considered a §678 grantor trust subjecting her to serious income tax liability (which the ascertainable standard would not solve, but a jointly exercisable power of appointment could).

Aside from tax consequences, the child might not be the best suited to make objective decisions of the application or use of trust assets (despite the possibility that she is more than qualified to do so). This might not be a position that the parents want to put the child in (including the attendant fiduciary duties and potential liability therefrom). However, if a professional (lawyer, or professional trustee) and the child were to serve as co-trustees, many of these adverse potential consequences could be ameliorated with sophisticated trust instruments and a clear division of responsibilities. The family member's opinion and input on important distribution decisions can be a helpful guide to the professional trustee or lawyer in serving as a qualified, independent trustee. In either case, once both parents ass away, the importance of a professional trustee for the irrevocable trust(s) will be even more important than before because astute and prudent allocation of assets are critical to prevent potential losses to other beneficiaries in the form of tax and lost opportunity for appreciation of assets.

Note: it’s also important to verify the state in which each trustee is a resident in order to avoid unnecessary state tax issues. We would draft a standard savings clause to protect against this, but there is no such thing as undue prudence.

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None of this should be construed or relied upon as legal advice. The author is not a lawyer, and does not purport to bet. This is merely a discussion of issues that arise in trustee selection.