NBA: Miracle Workers

Chapter 318 The Birth of Winning Honey (Daily Chapter)

January 2004, 1, the first day of the New Year, Li You, who had just celebrated his 1th birthday last night, had to continue to be busy.

The birthday party was held at his home in Manhattan. Knicks teammates and friends from New York were invited. After returning to Peninsula Manor on the first day of the new year, the party was more intimate and all partners were invited.

After the Manchester United Club's shareholders' meeting, Li You's name was completely remembered by the British melon-eaters.

Both the BBC and the Mirror are gossiping. BBC economics editor Randall even joked in an interview:

"Manchester United is as close to being taken over as it is to park a tank in someone's front garden."

In order to assert their sovereignty, Irish horse racing tycoons Magnier and McManus recently struck hard on the London stock market!

Once again purchased 3.4% of the shares from Dutch media tycoon De Moor, another major shareholder of Manchester United.

The total holding amount of Red Football Capital is 28.41%, and the total holding amount of the two major shareholders in Manchester United has reached 28.89%.

The British sports media and financial circles have begun to gossip about the duel between the two sides. After owning nearly 29% of the shares, both parties have a huge say in Manchester United's board of directors.

Interestingly, it was precisely because of the invasion of red football capital that the Irish racecourse tycoon failed to completely control the club.

Both parties can convene emergency shareholders' meetings at any time, and after dispatching three non-executive directors to supervise the Manchester United club, the board of directors has a tripartite situation.

Russian tycoon Larif Safin also wanted to join the acquisition, but Maozi's internal attacks on domestic economic oligarchs have reduced his enthusiasm for acquisitions.

Perhaps there is an insider in the Manchester United club. It was also revealed that the board of directors submitted a 13-page written report to Red Football Capital's legal team and Magnier's legal team respectively.

The columnist of the "Mirror" wrote an article as if he was personally there, describing Manchester United executive Gill's questioning of the major shareholder:

"Do you really care about Manchester United?"

The answer to this question is naturally yes. After all, both sides use real money to buy stocks, and the pound cannot lie!

Manchester United's stock price has risen recently, and its market value has reached 7 million pounds. In response, Manchester United fans have continued to protest. Everyone supports Ferguson and believes that the major shareholders are vampires who do not understand football.

There was no snowfall after Christmas, but the highest temperature during the day was only 3℃, and at night it was below zero.

The Peninsula Manor is too large, and most of it is covered by forests, so the temperature is not very friendly to the body.

However, this does not affect the atmosphere of the banquet. The protagonist tonight is Stanley O'Neill, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Merrill Lynch.

Many senior executives from Merrill Lynch, as well as Ax Capital and surrounding neighbors, came to join in the fun.

As the first non-white executive of Merrill Lynch, Stanley O'Neal was once named "the most powerful black executive in the United States" by Fortune magazine.

Stanley O'Neal, who has gray hair and looks like an "old slave", raised his glass and smiled happily.

The service staff of the party company constantly served delicious food to everyone from the kitchen.

Although the music played by the pianist was relatively soothing, there were many beautiful model girls here tonight, and many people enjoyed it and entered a state of self-pleasure early.

Li You and the others did not fall into the carnival. After chatting about home affairs, Stanley O'Neal joked with a smile:

"Our Wall Street Sheriff seems to have invited Li to watch a musical. Pay attention to your emails and remember to ask traders to be careful. This guy will not give up easily."

The three Ziff brothers also attended the party tonight. None of them like Spitzer, the attorney general.

The other party is accumulating political capital and preparing for the subsequent gubernatorial election. Under the "killing of chickens to scare monkeys", many Wall Street companies have suffered.

Dirk Ziff, wearing a decent black formal suit, raised his eyebrows covertly, glanced at Li You and Bobby, and also teased the black CEO:

"He issued a fine of 100 million yuan to Merrill Lynch. Aren't you going to express your gratitude?"

Stanley was able to take over, but the process was not glorious.

The previous CEO was his mentor David Komansky. His appointment caused the mentor to leave early, and he immediately fired Executive Vice President Thomas Patrick after taking office.

The latter led the layoffs at Merrill Lynch and put the company back on track. As a result, the CEO was replaced, and this person became the "scapegoat" to calm employees' emotions.

Last year, the whole Wall Street followed suit. After Stanley took office, he declared that he would change the "mom culture" of Merrill Lynch's job security, and even claimed that he would defeat Goldman Sachs and become a trading giant.

This method is somewhat similar to that of the Attorney General. Therefore, after the incident of Merrill Lynch analysts declaring some stocks as junk in emails and then recommending them to clients came to light, many people thought this was "retribution."

Stanley didn't care at all about the rich second generation's ridicule. Instead, he said meaningfully:

"We only do legal transactions. In fact, I personally support Spitzer. At least he has won back the trust of Wall Street."

"Akers Capital will not be punished and our transactions strictly abide by the rules."

"Actually, you could have sold the shares to us. Without that part, we would be a little passive at the shareholders' meeting of Manchester United."

Bobby stared at Stanley. He didn't like the other party's showy operations. The 3.4% shares were handled by Merrill Lynch, Manchester United's designated agent.

Li You saw that the atmosphere was a little tense, and said with a smile:

"Don't worry about these Bobby, this deal has made us closer friends. This is a good thing and we should drink to it!"

To raise the stock price and earn more profits, Stanley is indeed ruthless. He knew Li You in 2000 when he was the president of the private client group.

At that time, no one was as rich as they are now, so Stanley got a promotion and a salary increase, helping the British to fight against him.

The few people stopped talking about business matters, and Stanley finally made amends with a smile:

"Lee, David Messer was recently raising money to bring Marvel comics to the big screen, and he turned to Merrill Lynch for help."

"Akers Capital can also participate and we will jointly invest. This is an opportunity to make money!"

Seeing the old guy blinking ambiguously, Li You knew that this was giving him the qualification to "bring money into the group".

After agreeing with a smile, Li You secretly complained about the old guy's incompetence:

"You spend hundreds of millions of dollars playing with girls? Do you really think they are all made of gold?"

After the dinner, many people left with their favorite girls to continue the nightlife.

In the study, Bobby talked about his experience at the Manchester United shareholders meeting, and then complained about the bloated Stanley:

"If we get that share, the board will be completely under control. He's warning us!"

Unbuttoning his collar, Bobby stood up and walked around depressedly. As the size of the fund expanded, there were more and more competitors, and bad things happened one after another.

Li You also knows this, but it takes too long to make money just by buying stocks, and Wall Street does not have the option of making money by being friendly:

"Supposedly he likes subprime-backed CDOs? We'll have a chance!"

"I met our neighbor Nicholas Moniz, the founder of Amaranth Advisors, at a party. They stole a lot of investors?"

Amaranth is also a hedge fund established in 2000 and is headquartered in Greenwich. Amaranth has developed extremely rapidly in the past few years.

Monis once served as a portfolio manager at the Padma Fund, whose founder Sussman is a long-time donor to the Donkey Party.

"They do have more support and Sussman does have a lot of cachet."

For such a veteran opponent, Bobby also recognized the opponent's excellence.

Padma Fund has been consistently profitable, and its risk aversion from market volatility has earned the founder critical acclaim from time-tested hedge funds.

Li You touched his chin, thinking that it was already 2004, and suddenly said:

"New Orleans will encounter hurricanes in the future. Maybe this is another opportunity given to us by God!"

"?"

Bobby had a question mark on his face and seemed to have failed to keep up with Li You's leaping thinking. However, his memory was particularly good. After some backtracking, he suddenly said:

"You mean Amaranth's energy deal? If there's a hurricane."

Bobby, who was pacing back and forth, was breathing heavily, which meant hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue.

The two talked quietly for a while, and then Bobby left in a hurry. He needed to prepare everything from now on.

When Ivana came to the study with snacks, Li You was lying on the chair looking at the ceiling in a daze.

He decided to do more charity and buy some psychological comfort

"If I had known earlier, I should have prepared to go to law school earlier. Only Milinda can help you on such an occasion!"

Ivana, who returned to Manhattan after Christmas, has been taking care of the Peninsula Manor. The blond White Rabbit, who has not yet graduated, cannot find a sense of presence at such a gathering.

After all, she is still a young girl, and she has been enjoying life in the past few years. Naturally, she cannot chat with those wives who enter law firms or Wall Street after graduating from law school.

Ivana, who sat in Li You's arms, put the snack to her mouth. Li You ate it in one bite and then sucked on the other person's finger.

Ivana, who was still wearing a white dress, gave Li You a charming look. She had her hair tied up tonight, leaving only a few strands of curly blond hair in front of her forehead.

Although she is only 23 years old, compared with when she was a girl, she has lost the baby fat. In addition, she has managed her weight well recently and has a plump figure, which gives her a different temperament.

"Don't think so much. Milinda has been working for many years. Didn't your father ask you to return to the group? You will soon become a big entrepreneur."

Li You comforted in a low voice. Seeing the tangled look on his face, he leaned into his ear and changed the subject and said:

"Where are the Milinda people? Eat some more, we still have work to do."

Ivana thought of Milinda, who was getting ready in the bathroom, her face turned slightly red, and her body became even weaker after a pair of big soft balls were suddenly held.

The blond white rabbit didn't speak, and his breathing became more and more rapid. Li You knew what he should do. He picked him up and walked to the bathroom:

"You guys can always come up with new tricks!"

After the beginning of the new year, Chinese fans also ushered in a new toy. Baidu Tieba was born at the end of the year.

Yao Ming, who came to play in the NBA, made more fans recognize Li You!

Although the Internet has not yet been popularized in many places, with more and more reports from sports magazines and CCTV, Li You's popularity has skyrocketed.

In this era, most of the essays in sports magazines are inspirational. But after reading Li You’s report, young fans will shout:

"Niu X!"

Most of the student party members don’t have time to watch the game, but Li You’s highlight reel is incredibly beautiful. Currently, the “national server” is still in its infancy stage. Student party fans who watched the highlight reel will also shout:

"That's awesome!"

There are more and more winning fans. Chinese sports media just feel that short essays are not enough. The homogeneity of magazine content is extremely serious.

People in big cities can get first-hand information, and students from well-off families have begun to make efforts to buy Li You's signature sneakers. The best-selling pair is the first-generation foam Li You shoes that cost more than 1000 soft girl coins.

Changing colors and cutting leeks can't stop these enthusiastic young fans. The actual performance of this pair of shoes is average, but the X attribute is the biggest selling point.

"Ten-year-old fans" came uninvited one after another, talking about the signature shoes in a clear and logical manner, and even added additional attributes to the shoes:

"Li You defeated Michael Jordan wearing this signature shoe! When I put on the shoes, I felt the bounce increased!"

"."

At this time, there are no more "four shooting guards". Most fans of the game have become Li You's die-hard fans, and those who like Kobe, Carter, McGrady, and Iverson have become a niche group.

The logic of Winning Honey is also very simple. A simple comparison can lead to the conclusion:

His posture is not as chic as Li You's, his flower work is not as good as Li You's, his statistics are vastly different, and his honors are few and far between.

With such a big difference, why not support the winner?

Of course, some people also like tragic heroes. Iverson, Carter, and McGrady still gained some fans. Although they did not beat Li You, their spirits were commendable!

As for Kobe, his image has been damaged due to the recent illegal invasion incident, and his popularity has dropped a lot.

The Knicks played three games after the New Year. In the game against the Nets, Li You and Kidd faced each other, and in the end they had no choice but to suffer their first defeat in the New Year.

Of course, this is also related to the absence of Gasol and Hill. In the game against the Bulls, the former injured his shoulder and Hill injured his knee.

For insurance reasons, the coaching staff decisively sent the two players to the injured list.

On the night of the 6th, in the away game against the Cavaliers, the Knicks clocked in another three quarters.

勒布朗-詹姆斯表现不错，填满数据栏，全场17中6，砍下14分2篮板10助攻1抢断1盖帽4失误。

After losing this game, the Cavaliers' record reached 8 wins and 26 losses, still ranking first from the bottom.

On January 1, the Knicks will face the Rockets at home. This game happens to be on the other side of the ocean on Saturday. The Rockets played back-to-back games. In the away game against the Pistons, they lost miserably to their opponents 8:66.

姚明出场27分钟，5中2，拿到4分5篮板2盖帽4失误的数据。

主力得分手莫布里12中2，拿了8分，弗朗西斯16中6，砍下全队最高的15分。

After the loss, the Rockets' record fell to 19 wins and 15 losses. The decline in record also made Mike Brown change from the former future coach to the current "brown bread".

活塞队再次展现了出色防守，本-华莱士算是找回了面子，在出任4号位后，8中4，砍下9分15篮板2助攻1抢断3盖帽2失误的数据。

Like last season, the Pistons still lack a strong big man, but with a record of 23 wins and 13 losses, they have secured their position in the top half.

The NBA announced its Player of the Month for December at the beginning of the month. To the dismay of the commentators, Li You won the award again.

The Knicks achieved a record of 12 wins and 14 losses in December, leading the Eastern Conference!

李佑场均出场32.8分钟，场均贡献29.0分5.0篮板10.4助攻2.8抢断0.4盖帽2.4失误；

He averaged 17.8 shots per game, shooting 51.2% from the field, 43.5% from three-point range, and 92.6% from free throws.

The Timberwolves achieved a record of 11 wins and 2 losses, and Kevin Garnett won the Player of the Month in December.

Compared with Li You’s data, Garnett’s Excel is more beautiful:

场均出场40.3分钟，场均拿到26.4分13.2篮板5.8助攻1.8抢断2.5盖帽2.4失误；

He averaged 19.6 shots per game, shooting 52.5% from the field and 76.1% from the free throw line.

As if he felt that his statistics were superior to Li You's, Garnett continued to boast X for more than a week at the beginning of the month:

"I'm just the best big man in the league."

“No one can match my impact on the game!”

With the support of record and data, Garnett's efficient performance has been recognized by football critics. At this time, everyone actively ignored Li You's fishing. The league needs new stars!

As the season progresses, the intensive schedule will naturally make players feel tired.

Yao Ming was a little listless when he arrived in Manhattan. After losing to the Pistons, some sports commentators began to attack him again.

Li You can ignore the judgment of the outside world, after all, he can raise his left hand, and the championship means everything.

Yao Ming naturally cannot do this. He also represents Chinese basketball, so he will be depressed after every performance of stretching his hips.

When he was a guest at Li You's home on 82nd Street in Manhattan, Yao Ming was faced with a table full of delicious food, but Yao Ming could only taste it.

"Most of the Chinese restaurants in Manhattan have improved our local cuisine, and Master Ye's craftsmanship is absolutely unparalleled!"

Master Ye, who is tall and thin, comes to Li You's side from time to time to cook and cook at his door. All the ingredients are included. In addition, Li You is generous, and the old master smiles from ear to ear every time he comes here.

Looking at Master Ye who was smiling and raising his glass, Yao Ming also smiled:

"Athletes don't have to suffer themselves. Don't worry about what the outside world says. As long as they are Chinese, they will support you!"

After Yao Ming got to know Li You deeply, he did find a different life as an athlete, but his situation was different. At this time, he could only smile bitterly:

"I really like surfing the Internet. Every time I see those news, I always feel a little uncomfortable!"

Seeing Yao Ming in the "pattern" state, Li You shook his head and said:

"What is the salary of the Rockets? In the NBA, if you want to achieve better results, you may not win a championship if you spend more money, but if you don't spend money, there is a high probability that you will not win a championship."

"In 82 regular season games, everyone has downturns, and no player can shine all the time."

"Taking some time off from some competitions will help protect your physical condition!"

As a big man of 2 meters tall, Yao Ming's physical fitness is naturally not very good. He has a lot of meat shields these days, and his body is too weak to play in the paint.

If you want to reduce consumption, you have to fish appropriately, but Yao Ming has psychological baggage and cannot do what Li You does.

Taking advantage of the dinner party, Li You also taught Yao Ming his fishing skills:

"In the competition, increasing your expressiveness can help you gain more impression points!"

“Not only does it mean scoring a goal and playing a great defense, but you also have to pump your fist into the camera.”

"In some games, you don't have to think about retreating quickly, beating your chest and roaring twice, but it will actually earn you more praise."

"Can't the big man delay the pick-and-roll? Tell your teammates and let them squeeze through the screen! That's the role player's job."

"Core players will not sacrifice their own strengths to serve the team. Correspondingly, the team should serve the core players and supplement his shortcomings."

"The NBA has never been short of players. If the role players have opinions, then replace them with another batch! They don't do this job, there are plenty of players who do!"

"Earn a high salary, do your job well, and if there is demand, tell the team that basketball is a sport for five people. How many jobs can you do to earn one salary? This thing does not exist at all."

"."

Yao Ming's eyes widened when he heard this. Li You is simply a "basketball capitalist" and puts his status above the team. This is in huge conflict with his ideas, and he also has some doubts about his previous ideas:

"Is this the secret to success?"

Across the ocean in China, CCTV Sports will naturally broadcast the Rockets game on Saturday morning.

After meeting the Knicks in back-to-back games, and Yao Ming's performance in the last game, Zhang Weiping began to stack up his armor in advance in the studio:

"This game is not easy to play. Although the Knicks lost to the Nets a few days ago, their overall condition is still very good."

"There are 4 games this week. There are no back-to-back games. The opponents are not strong. Li You has not been exhausted at all."

"Yao Ming can't do it. Even though Francis is an All-Star, if he meets Li You, he will definitely not be able to pass the ball."

"The Rockets are going to lose unless Mobley breaks out!"

This kind of back-to-back away games really tests the physical fitness of the players. Host Yu Jia also agrees with this view. He no longer talks too much about the outcome of the game, but changes the topic and says:

"Winning the best player for two consecutive months, does Li You still have a chance to win the MVP?"

As soon as he heard this question, Zhang Weiping smiled and joked about the NBA's selection mechanism:

"It stands to reason that with the Knicks' record and Li You leading the scoring and assists charts, there is basically no suspense about the MVP."

"But that's not the case in the NBA. The purpose of his awards is to encourage players and to create stars!"

"All stars must have honors. A star without an MVP is not a superstar."

"So, the current situation is that as long as Garnett maintains this data and performance, he can win the award."

"This year's All-Stars, Li You and Garnett are both selected for the seventh time. Based on their length of service, it is Garnett's turn to win the award."

Hearing that the veteran's theories about seniority came out, Yu Jia in the studio could only smile and nod.

The game went just as the two people in the studio expected, with the Knicks frequently launching high pick-and-rolls.

In most rounds, Yao Ming could only watch the shot, or encounter Li Youqiang's sudden attack to the basket, resulting in a foul.

The Rockets again encountered a scoring drought in the first quarter. Jim Jackson failed to continue his efficient performance in the previous game and was completely restricted by Artest.

At 14:34, falling behind by 20 points in the first quarter also made the two people in the CCTV sports studio depressed.

Before the start of the new season, Chinese sports media once again boasted:

"The Rockets are aiming for the championship!"

Digging deeply into every player of the Rockets and trying to create an illusion of strong strength for the fans.

Frequently "called out" by Li You in pick-and-rolls, Francis failed to squeeze through the screens in many rounds, which made Yao Ming's performance on the court very disgraceful.

Falling behind by a big score, Yu Jia started talking about other topics in the studio:

"When our reporters in the United States interviewed head coach Mike Brown, he asked about Yao Ming's development direction."

"Coach Brown believes that Yao Ming must increase confrontation, that is, gain muscle. Coach Zhang, what do you think of this suggestion?"

Li You, who appeared again, hit a three-pointer from the left wing. Zhang Weiping first shouted "It's so beautiful!" and then said on this topic:

"If you want to completely gain a foothold in the league, your body is indeed the most important thing. Yao Ming has to increase confrontation, which can make his scoring more stable."

"The most important thing is that if he wants to enter the conference finals in the Western Conference, Yao Ming will meet more outstanding big men."

"Staying competitive and polishing your body are absolutely necessary. Yao Ming can endure hardships, so this will not be a problem for him!"

The two had a hearty chat in the studio, but the lackluster Rockets failed to mount an effective counterattack.

At the end of the half, 36:60, the game ran out of suspense early on.

Yao Ming, who was not physically fit enough, went through a long roundabout run again. When he returned to the locker room during halftime, he began to gasp for air.

Back-to-back away games still caused a lot of trouble for Yao Ming. After all, the Knicks play at a fast pace.

When head coach Mike Brown returned to the locker room and saw the physical condition of his players, he felt a little helpless.

He does want to get the ball inside, but the Knicks are very good at guarding super centers.

Tonight's game strategy was simple and crude. In some rounds, Francis gave the ball to Yao Ming in the low post on the wing. There was no double-teaming when he got stuck, but everything changed the moment he caught the ball.

Li You usually slides quickly, just in time to interfere when Yao Ming releases the ball, and cooperates with his teammates to double-team.

All Gasol has to do is push Yao Ming away from the basket!

Such a simple tactic caused Yao Ming to make three mistakes in the half.

8中3，罚球4中4，10分4篮板1助攻3失误，内线核心表现平平，火箭队自然大比分落后。

"Cheer up and don't have to worry about the outcome of the game. Being able to play against the defending champion is also an opportunity to learn."

"Steve, I need to see your response in the second half. I don't want to see you give up the game too early. Basketball is round and anything is possible!"

After Mike Brown said these words, he pushed up his glasses, and then pulled the assistant coach to continue delivering chicken soup without mentioning any tactical issues.

In the third quarter, the defensive intensity of the game dropped, and the Rockets regained some face.

At Madison Square Garden, the New York fans at the scene entered a state of self-reliance early, and their record was far ahead. This was the source of the fans' happiness.

Yao Ming did not play again after half a quarter. Facing the Knicks, who continued to speed up, too many turnaround runs made the big players unable to withstand it.

In the end, this highly anticipated game by Chinese fans ended with a disastrous defeat for the Rockets.

82:112, the Knicks defeated their opponents and their record reached 34 wins and 3 losses.

The New York fans at the scene were still the same, not paying too much attention to the Rockets' situation, and continued to shout Li You's name loudly after the game.

In New York, Yao Ming doesn't even get much support from Chinese fans. Here are the purest "winners", and most people are Li You's biggest fans.

弗朗西斯今天晚上表现平平，14中5，三分线外5中1，罚球7中5，拿到16分6篮板6助攻1抢断4失误的数据。

Many players don't like Li You. On the contrary, everyone can resonate more with Iverson. This is the case with Francis. He doesn't like the Knicks' current team culture at all.

The continuous cheers made Francis look a little ugly. After returning to the locker room, Yao Ming was in a low mood and suddenly whispered:

"This is my problem. It's difficult for me to defend pick-and-rolls. We have to restructure our defensive system."

Francis didn't expect his little brother to suddenly say these words, and even Mobley looked up at Yao Ming.

After the Rockets got on the bus, the assistant coach told Mike Brown about the situation in the locker room.

Black Bread showed a thoughtful expression. He also felt that the current team's thighs were not thick enough. Finally, he whispered to the coaching staff:

"I will negotiate with the team. Maybe we need to consider reinforcements in advance."

"."

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(End of this chapter)