Jew

So...uhh....David Stern just officially blew up the NBA.

We wouldn't be having this discussion if there wasn't doubt about who is the second best team in the country right now. Also, interesting tidbit from the LA Times:

P.S.: Funny how now it's OK to have a rematch when it's two SEC teams, but not OK when it should have been OSU vs. Michigan back in 2007 (which incidentally was also an extremely close loss to the #1 team in the country on the road)...

^You're right about that! No one in this thread can make an educated guess about USH's attendance patterns. All I know is I'm excited for this expansion!

If we had a playoff system in place, and Alabama made it back to the title game through that process, no one would complain because it would be clear that they earned it. The way the system is now leaves whether or not they earned it up for debate. How can they be the best team if there is debate as to who was their most worthy oppenent? Most notably, we're all still waiting for a USC vs. LSU matchup...among all the other questionable #2 teams that made it through.

^That is like car #7 since you've been posting here.

Speaking of George Lucas, he did an interview with Time magazine in 1983 saying he was burned out and done with Star Wars after Return of the Jedi. Then he got divorced a few years later and went back to work on the prequels. JK Rowling also said last year during her interview with Oprah that a new book in the series is still a possibility. Even if a new book is not written, Pottermore was just launched and will include tons of previously unreleased material and an online game/social networking portal with more unique content. That can carry the franchise for years to come. Nor have I seen a single article or media outlet say Harry Potter is fading...

Final movie in the original trilogy. You know what I meant. But you are correct: Star Wars and Indy did things to keep the franchise alive. Sort of like how Pottermore was just launched into "beta" and almost immediately filled up its 1-million spots allocated for "beta testing"? It hasn't even been made available on e-book yet, so when that happens it is going to blow up the best seller list all over again.

^^So by that logic, Disney never should have built Indy 6 years after the final movie?

^^That's definitely the downside of being so strict about sticking to the stories. All those rides you mentioned have something else in common: they tell you the story. I thought the WWoHP looked really good, the ride system was cool...but I didn't understand the story at all. The queue didn't tell me the story. The ride didn't tell me the story. It made no sense because it was apparently a really good re-creation of Hogwarts. I hope in Hollywood's version they will make it easier for the non Potter fans to understand.

The BCS is really like an election when it comes down to the polls. Coaches vote within their conference and do anything they can to lobby Harris Poll voters. The AP poll looks better everyday for getting out of that mess. But I'm bias, since they allowed USC to stay in the polls. USC not being included in the BCS also really hurt Stanford, since it robbed them of a high quality win.

Jim at Westcoaster drew up a more realistic concept.

^^LiveNation operates it and leases it from Universal. Universal just collects a check from the place at this point.

Considering the tram consistently has 1 hour+ long lines during peak seasons (and that's with the tram getting 2500+pph), was so popular that they had to create the "kong express" for HHN the first year, and is still the featured attraction on maps/advertising...I'd say people want to see Kong. Potter is going to be insane when it opens.

^Or they'll just get everyone to buy the park-hopper ticket and make even more money. They'll probably just scan your ticket before you are allowed to board. ^^One area I noticed that has changed is the food and retail locations. It felt like it was impossible to find somewhere good to eat at IoA unless you eat before 4pm. This is obviously a business decision to match the crowd flow, but it was annoying for me personally. They also raped Mythos menu to the point Dan and I chose not to eat there because none of the signature items were on the menu anymore, replaced by more generic items...

^From what I was reading, Detroit was one of the main drivers behind this. Them being in the western conference while being in eastern time zone really hurt their TV broadcasts.

^I think he was referring to IoA and UO as parks. Not the Harry Potter franchise.

Translation: we still don't care about this park, but we're at least going to get more money out of the stadium through this deal than if we sold the park to JMA.

That's a VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY small pool of the market for USH. And even then, lets say there are people who visited Orlando and enjoyed WWoHP: USH can now be a cheaper/closer vacation for some of those guests. King Kong did 20% for USH...

I would put money on the fact 9/10 visitors to USH have never been to Orlando. It will still be a big deal.

@ Chris: I honestly don't think they have details to announce yet. There was just no way two huge publicly traded companies could brush off a report like that from the WSJ. My money would be on the ride itself being a clone with some new stores/shops/experiences instead of direct clone of Hogsmeade.

I get the feeling this press conference was hastily thrown together after the WSJ got the scoop. I suspect the reason they don't have more details is because the details are still far from finalized.

^Exactly. And even if she does stay financially sound...how often have we seen a director/producer/corporate CEO "retire" only to start up another company doing the same exact thing a few years later? When you invest so much creative energy into something, there's no way you just let it go. You're always going to wonder "what if..."

^I agree. I was just telling a co-worker that there is no way JK Rowling will be able to let go of the franchise. Her creative itch isn't going to go away.