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Originally posted by farsk8dutch:
I'm sure Mike was a great player and a decent guy for the most part -not barring the circumstances. Were it not for all of his hard work and dedication MtG might not be what it is today. But, as for Mike and his career, or anyone for that matter, getting caught cheating equals failure on their part.

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You said that he is a failed Pro Tour player. His life today is certainly lulz, but while on the tour, he was nothing short of feared. If you want to include his life post-Magic, shrug, that's your business. I consider him an extremely successful Pro Tour player.

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Originally posted by daner:
Mike Long is all of the above. He is a GREAT player and mind, he is a gigantic d-bag, and he is a stone cold cheater.

It is just plain wrong when people say he wasn't sucessful though.

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Originally posted by pyr0ma5ta:
You said that he is a failed Pro Tour player. His life today is certainly lulz, but while on the tour, he was nothing short of feared. If you want to include his life post-Magic, shrug, that's your business. I consider him an extremely successful Pro Tour player.

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Originally posted by fwybwed:
Mark McGwire,

Though Long may have those accomplishments, I will only remember the times he cheated....

Mark McGwire quote "I'm not here to talk about the past. I'm here to be positive about this subject"

lol FAIL

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Originally posted by implode:
And it was never proven Mark McGwire ever took steroids...only andro, and when he took it, it was entirely legal. A broke Conseco is hardly a reliable source for information. His book was a self serving way to pay off IRS debts by throwing around a whole lot of inuendo.

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Originally posted by implode:
And it was never proven Mark McGwire ever took steroids...only andro, and when he took it, it was entirely legal. A broke Conseco is hardly a reliable source for information. His book was a self serving way to pay off IRS debts by throwing around a whole lot of inuendo.

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Not to stray too far off topic, but you live in MO, also known as the "Bubble In The Universe Where Canseco's Books Have No Credibility Because We Want To Believe McGwire Didn't Use Steroids." Outside said bubble, Canseco's books have in fact earned credibility because of the amount of information in them that has been proven true.

Personally, I believe that McGwire stopped using steroids after the 1992 season, and started using Androsteindione soon thereafter.

At any rate, Mike Long can kiss my butt. I wish I was half that good so I could get on the pro tour.

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Originally posted by Keaner:
True that. I'll concede what he did in that game wasn't cheating. Just very unsportsmanlike.

Do you know if it was possible for him to draw a drain life in that game? I've watched the youtube video but it's not very clear how many he had already discarded.

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I disagree. I think this was a an awesome play by Long. Perhaps it's because I play a lot of poker, but I am impressed by a good bluff. A similar play won me game 3 in the finals of a sealed tournament.

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Originally posted by Keaner:
You can tell he was a good player but not champ material. He wins a few tours, people caught on to his tricks and he never wins another tour after. Even if he legitimately won the first few tours he was caught cheating so his legacy will be that he won those events by cheating. I would be satisfied just calling him a cheater, but after I read this:

"In the finals of Pro Tour Paris 1997, Long was playing Mark Justice. In one game, Long, piloting his Prosperous Bloom combo deck, faced a situation where he would lose unless he could win on his current turn. According to Mark Rosewater, in order to get his combo to go off, he needed to discard his sole copy of Drain Life, the only card in his deck capable of dealing damage and thus killing his opponent. After drawing a large number of cards with a large Prosperity, Long showed his hand to Justice to communicate that he had the game won and would only waste time going through the motions. As Justice did not know the exact contents of Long's deck, he was unaware that Long had discarded his only copy of Drain Life and thus had no way to win the game. Justice conceded the game and went on to lose the match."

The guy is more than a cheater. Mind games are one thing. I have made people not play cards in their hand that could have won them the game by making them think I had something in my hand that I didn't. But to show your hand and try to convince the other person you've won when you don't have squat? D-bag almighty.

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Above makes the other guy look like an idiot.. Look at his graveyard etc.

At the time magic players were REALLY bad with this stuff and he took advantage of it.. Nothing wrong with that.

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Originally posted by *Tedman*:
Wow, yeah, I remember that. I was trading with him, and I think you were around. He was very aggressive, pulling cards out of my binder without asking, and proposing really lopsided deals. He made it very hard to say no, basically trying to intimidate me into trading in his favor.

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I thought it was me who was trading with him... Maybe he did it to both of us.

It was too bad Jay wasn't there at the time because he probably would have punched Mike Long out hahaha.

Bullying your opponent isn't cleaver or cool. Believe it or not, but most Magic players are not very aggressive or confrontational.

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Originally posted by WeedIan:
[B]Above makes the other guy look like an idiot.. Look at his graveyard etc.

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Originally posted by Pringlesman:

"As Justice did not know the exact contents of Long's deck, he was unaware that Long had discarded his only copy of Drain Life and thus had no way to win the game."

Looking at his graveyard wouldn't HAVE done anything since he thought that mike long was playing more than one drain life.

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Fixed for my sanity.

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Originally posted by OGB:
This was a great play. Great players snatch victory out of thin air, which is exactly what Mike Long did in this situation. This is one of the all time best bluffs in Magic history. I think your judgment of this amazing play is clouded by who you perceive Mike Long to be.

Cheating is another story - I personally don't think that his "legacy" will be that of a cheater. Olivier Ruel has openly admitted to cheating and he is in the Hall of Fame - his legacy will be that of a great player.

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I agree. This was a great play. All Justice had to do was say "No I don't really understand what you got going on so play it out" and BAMB!!! Long loses. This was a bluff not a cheat. There is nothing in the rules that says you can't reveal your hand.

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Originally posted by Jtrade77:
He's got amazing personal charisma. I'd watch his comedy act, but I wouldn't leave him alone in a room with anything valuable.

Of course, that may be off now. He's had 10 years since he got caught holding a card on his lap. Maybe he's changed since then?

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People usually don't change.

One thing i do remember from Toronto World's was at the time he had his whole foil collection stolen, so karma
does catch up to people

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Originally posted by MogulKahn:
mike long is a legend

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in my pants

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Originally posted by SuperTodd987:
Mike Long is the Mike Vic of magic o_O

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Originally posted by OGB:
This analogy makes no sense whatsoever.

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Obv, Long was making his Isamarus and Lava Hounds fight.

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Originally posted by OGB:
This analogy makes no sense whatsoever.

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well.

I meant he is a good player; however, the community of fans ( MTG community ) as a whole does not approve of him.

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Originally posted by SuperTodd987:
well.

I meant he is a good player; however, the community of fans ( MTG community ) as a whole does not approve of him.

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also, he was convicted of a federal crime and is currently serving prison time?

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Originally posted by pyr0ma5ta:
also, he was convicted of a federal crime and is currently serving prison time?

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Mike Long? What did he do?

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Originally posted by pyr0ma5ta:
quote:
Originally posted by MogulKahn:
mike long is a legend

in my pants

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