Please stay, LJ!

54-11 said :

That’s right, motley – Stanhope wants a statue of her. Perhaps to sit alongside the one of Al Grassby. What a fate for Lauren!

I don’t know what it is about Stanhope but he seriously needs some therapy.

My theory is he wants all these statues to soften us up for the one he really wants – a 30m high one of himself in Civic Square, Kim il-Sung style. Or perhaps Cristo Redentor style, on Black Mountain.

Skidbladnir said :

Juice Terry said :

I’m lost here. From your statement above, I take it the ACT Government is currently paying her to play for the Capitals? I just assumed she was being paid by the Capitals.

Nope.
Both Matt Giteau and Jauren Jackson are on the public purse.
Stanhope has a tendency to step in and prop up with taxpayer’s scratch the sportings teams which can’t afford their talent.

IE: If sports teams want to live beyond their means, taxpayers will foot the bill.

Such is the price of ego driven politicians who want to bask in the reflected glory of the success of local sporting teams. The dollars don’t matter if it gets them some of the credit for the team’s successes.

Myself, I don’t agree propping up sporting teams to be able to pay people they can’t otherwise afford is wrong. There are higher priorities for the money. Also it makes the sporting teams lazy – easier to go to govt for a handout than get out and sell the benefits to commercial sponsors.

bd84 said :

The Capitals only won the championship because of her, but I don’t think it justifies an outlay of cash from the government to get her back again.

She certainly was a key player but the Capitals have actually won 2 recent titles 06-07 and 08-09 without LJ. It’s a team sport – every player counts when it comes to winning the championship.

Juice Terry said :

I’m lost here. From your statement above, I take it the ACT Government is currently paying her to play for the Capitals? I just assumed she was being paid by the Capitals.

Nope.
Both Matt Giteau and Jauren Jackson are on the public purse.
Stanhope has a tendency to step in and prop up with taxpayer’s scratch the sportings teams which can’t afford their talent.

IE: If sports teams want to live beyond their means, taxpayers will foot the bill.

Skidbladnir said :

….If she should stay, then convince the local private sector to support her…..

I’m lost here. From your statement above, I take it the ACT Government is currently paying her to play for the Capitals? I just assumed she was being paid by the Capitals.

I liked the suggestion of a letter in the crimes to turn the Grassby statue into smelt and make it into a Lauren Jackson statue (might not be enough of him to make a lifesize LJ though).

The Capitals only won the championship because of her, but I don’t think it justifies an outlay of cash from the government to get her back again.

spinact said :

Surely she’s worthy of having a suburb named after her?

I think you have to be dead to receive that particular honour.

Like miz, I have five potholes of significance on two seperate roads that I dodge everyday.
If she should stay, then convince the local private sector to support her.
I don’t think she’s such a vital economic asset that we should be keeping her in town courtesy of the taxpayer. And with cash that could be spent on almost anything else with greater return to the public at large.
How am I meant to know if she’s using the money to pay off trips to Bali or a mortgage on her Gold Coast apartment?
I’d support some kind of open Public Cost-Benefit analysis of these Pay To Stay decisions.

(Unless of course I’m missing something and the Bulldyke/Militant-Feminist Contingent are either only in town because of her or they _really_ spend huge amounts at the games…)

54-11 said :

That’s right, motley – Stanhope wants a statue of her. Perhaps to sit alongside the one of Al Grassby. What a fate for Lauren!

I don’t know what it is about Stanhope but he seriously needs some therapy.

I agree with you completely. Has he given a reason as to why?? Seriously who puts up statues anymore?!

Surely she’s worthy of having a suburb named after her?

Agreed, not from taxpayers’ pockets – and no more statues either, of LJ or anyone else. Honestly, what are they thinking? Don’t they SEE the potholes, uncut median strips etc?

That’s right, motley – Stanhope wants a statue of her. Perhaps to sit alongside the one of Al Grassby. What a fate for Lauren!

I don’t know what it is about Stanhope but he seriously needs some therapy.

54-11 said :

And as for a statue of LJ? Another dickhead suggestion from a dickhead Chief Minister.

A statue?? WTF??

By all means pass the hat around, but keep the bonnet away from Stanhope. This is NOT a cause that all taxpayers should be putting in for.

And as for a statue of LJ? Another dickhead suggestion from a dickhead Chief Minister.

It was reported a few weeks back that she’ll contemplate doing alternate seasons for the Caps now – would be nice to see her every season sure but reality rules and having met her and seeing the time she spent to talk to my girls I have nothing but admiration for her and her team mates generally.

I guess at some point LIFE priorities come in to play. I for one was pleased with the decision to pay LAuren $200,000 for half a season with the Capitals. The benefits of that decision went far and wide.

If I attempt to put myself in her shoes, she owes no one anything as a result, so lets look at it from her perspective. She has just signed another multi million dollar, 2 year deal to stay in the WNBA. She has an opportunity in the “Off Season” to do something for her emotional health and well being, by coming home to spend time where she loves being around her family and friend, and playing for fun more than for money.

It all comes down to her beliefs about nmoney. If she takes that scarcity mentality, which some people in the media propose, saying that she only has a limited time to earn lots of money, then Canberra may not be an easy choice.

If however she takes the prosperity view which I subscribe to, that she has unlimited earning potential in many different ways after her professional playing career is over, then her focus can shift to the present. Her health and well being….. physical, mental and emotional are more important than the number of dollars she adds to her WNBA income.

From that view, the decision to keep playing for the CAPS is easy.

Just my humble opinion for what its worth.

If she loves it in our fair city that much, she could get a real job and play on the weekend for the standard match payment.