It is with regret and deep sadness that I must announce the passing of our dear friend, Plawrence . He is now pain-free and in peace. Before he passed he expressed, yet again, how much this BB and its members have meant to him.

I was so happy to see him post from home, for the final time on Sep 28th :
He last logged on 2 days ago, so I'm sure he read and appreciated more of your best wishes.

As a GBB member for over 4 years (since August 13, 2002), Member #1345 has been a great friend to many of us in person, as well as here on the BB. It's really hard to believe that we only met in person about 3 years ago -- it seems like I've known Plaw for decades! Always riding the "slippery slope," Paul Lawrence (a.k.a. Neal Pulcawer) told it like it was. Not only was he a great knowledge bank for The Godfather and the Mafia, he was also an aficionado of Sports, Fantasy Sports, Poker, Sports Betting, Movies, Conspiracy Theories, and Fine Food and Wine.

My fond memories of Plaw will last a lifetime. His treating me to a Nets game each year got me interested in basketball for the first time. His happenstance meeting, and subsequent unintentional insulting, of Frank Vincent at the Garden is classic. His own Civil Rights movement on the BB really stirred the shit up. And so did his opinions on how others ran fantasy leagues. He was a generous man who really loved his garlic bread and fried zucchini. Yet I still contend that he couldn't give out directions for shit! lol

A special note here about Plaw and Fantasy Sports, since it was his passion: He could be a shrewd bastid sometimes! lol While he was always truthful and honest -- he never cheated, he'd win fair and square -- he did swindle me out of LeBron James last year for a bunch of scrubs! But his reasoning was always sound, and his "crafty finagling" and "fuzzy math" made him a respected player.

The "StatMan" was taken from us way too early, at the age of only 57. As you know, his health was up-and-down the past 18 months or so, and he claimed the GangsterBB to be of invaluable help to him as an entertaining way to pass the time. I'm sure he's looking down at us right now, reading this thread -- and checking it for grammatical errors. lol And I'm sure he can't wait to look over our shoulders as we're reading The Godfather's Revenge to see how the saga continues, and how much Winegardner f--ked it up. lol In fact, just the other day I pulled some strings to get him a copy a month early. I didn't have the chance to surprise him with it.

We love you, Plaw, my most valued friend! And it's an understatement to say that you will be sorely missed -- the BB will not be the same without you!

Please post your happy remembrances of our dear friend...


JG

PS - I really wish I had posted this before Big Daddy's wonderful post in the other thread. But I'm glad he was able to post it.