Flooded With Football Information - Week 3

Sports, for many people, is a distraction that helps keep your mind off of the more frustrating aspects of life.  There are going to be 15 games of NFL football this weekend. The point of this post is to justify watching it. 

Sunday, September 22

The Early Games (All Times Listed in EST)

Arizona at New Orleans, 1 pm  

The Return of the Honey Badger and Patrick Peterson to Louisiana. 

Arizona has drafted two amazing cornerbacks in Tyrann Mathieu and Patrick Peterson, who both played for LSU in college. They should make things difficult for Drew Brees and the currently undefeated New Orleans Saints. 

Cleveland at Minnesota, 1 pm  

The Aftermath of the Trent Richardson trade

Cleveland just traded their best running back and and 2012 3rd overall pick, Trent Richardson to the Indianapolis Colts for a 1st round pick next year. This move is widely considered to be Cleveland giving up on this season. In the short term, flashy WR Josh Gordon is returning to his team after a 2 game suspension for a violation of the NFL's substance abuse policy. On the other side of the ball, The Vikings are also trying to win their first game of the year and keep pace in what figures to be a really tough NFC North.   

Detroit at Washington, 1 pm  

RG3 vs. Suh: Prediction PAIN!

Robert Griffin the 3rd looks sluggish and out of sorts after having ACL surgery over the off season and missing all of the preseason games. On the other side of the spectrum, Ndamukong Suh, Detroit's defensive tackle with a reputation for dirty after the whistle play, will be harassing Griffin all game.   

Green Bay at Cincinnati, 1 pm  

Hard Knock Life

After having their summer taped on the HBO series Hard Knocks, the Cincinnati Bengals will be hosting the Green Bay Packers. Look for the stellar Bengals Secondary against the Green Bay Passing Offense

Houston at Baltimore, 1 pm

It should be Us

The Texans came close to being in the position that Baltimore was in. As the 2011 season came to a close, the Texans looked as if they were poised to make serious noise in the playoffs, and many were predicting that the Texans would win the entire thing. However, the Texans quarterback, Matt Schaub got hurt and the Texans were put to rest by the Ravens. Now the Texans are healthy would be greatly assisted by beating the Ravens. However, the Super Bowl defending Ravens need a win just as badly to keep pace in their division and to show the league that they aren't planning to have a Super Bowl hangover. 

 

NY Giants at Carolina, 1 pm  

I know we haven't won, but I swear we're good

Both teams had playoff expectations and both teams have had two soul crushing defeats to begin their season. Both teams have running backs with fumble-itis and quality, but injured backups. Both teams depend on their front line to cover up for their horrid secondary.  One of these teams will be 0-3 after this game. 

San Diego at Tennessee, 1 pm  

I know you don't believe yet, but I swear we're good. 

On the other side of things, both San Diego and Tennessee are getting mild murmuring that they could be playoff teams. Both teams drafted offensive linemen in the second round. After this game one of these teams will be able to stake a claim that they are indeed playoff relevant, while not a Super Bowl caliber team. 

St. Louis at Dallas, 1 pm  

Hope you like that Cornerback!

In the 2012 Draft, the Rams traded their 6th round pick to the Cowboys for what became the 14, 50th and 51st picks in the draft. With their pick the Cowboys picked up Morris Claiborne who has been an effective, although entirely average and unspectacular cornerback for the Cowboys. The Rams used the picks for a load of depth picking up a DT, a RB and other pieces. Also, the Rams picked Janoris Jenkins, widely considered to be a better cornerback with the 38th overall pick in the same draft.  

Tampa Bay at New England, 1 pm  

Can't I just go back to Rutgers?

The longer this season goes on, the more it feels like a death march for Bucs Head Coach Greg Schiano and his team. Also, the quarterback, Josh Freeman seems to be self-destructing. Meanwhile, the injury rattled Patriots continue to run into easy opponent after easy opponent while waiting for their star tight end Rob Gronkowski to return to health.  

The Late Games

Atlanta at Miami, 4:05 pm  

Atlanta vs. the scheduling gods. 

The Falcons have had a "tougher than you'd think" schedule against 7-win teams that were better than you remember (Saints, Rams, Miami). The difference in talent between the Dolphins and the Atlanta Falcons isn't as high as expected considering the injuries that the Falcons have and the offensive improvements that the Dolphins have shown. The Falcons would be happy to escape with a win. 

Buffalo at NY Jets, 4:25 pm  

Rookie QB War. 

Geno Smith thought he would be the 1st QB drafted overall. He didn't even go in the first round. Smith would have been the backup were it not for a preseason injury to the presumptive early season starter Mark Sanchez. The current QB of the Bills is also the starter due to injury, but both have shown flashes of starting-caliber talent

Indianapolis at San Fran, 4:25 pm 

Trent Richardson in the Lion's Den

Trent Richardson was traded to the Colts to provide actual skill at the Running Back position, something the Colts haven't had in a long time. Unfortunately, they get the opportunity to play against an embarrassed and seething 49ers team that just lost an important game against their hated rival in Seattle. Also, the 49ers are really good at defense. Also, Colts QB Andrew Luck will be facing his old college coach from Stanford, Jim Harbaugh.  

 

Jacksonville at Seattle, 4:25 pm  

There isn't a line high enough

Jacksonville came into this season regarded as the worst team in the entire league. They have done nothing this season, other than provide evidence that people may have been too high on them. As a reward for not even considering picking up Florida icon and Prophet Tim Tebow, the scheduling gods have given them the best team in the league. Also, they are playing in Seattle where the Seahawks enjoy the best home field advantage in the entire league. In order to bet on Seattle to win this game, you have to bet that they will win by 20. Also, the Jaguars starting RB and QB will likely be out with injury. Godspeed.   

The Prime Time Games

Chicago at Pittsburgh, 8:30 pm  

We will raise hell in September. 

Other than history, there's no reason to believe that Pitt will be good this season. In fact, there is overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Moreso, there is overwhelming evidence that Pitt will struggle mightily. Most importantly, Breaking Bad will be on for 75 minutes, giving you more than enough of an excuse to avoid the first half of this game. On the other hand, we are still waiting for Jay Cutler to have a "Jay Cutler implodes" game. Besides, after Breaking Bad what else are you going to watch?     

Monday, September 23

Oakland at Denver, 8:40 pm  

Just keep Manning Healthy

Denver's playoff hopes are entirely dependent on the health of their QB, Peyton Manning. In this divisional game, the Broncos will try to win and get out with their QB still intact. While Oakland has shown that they may be the 31st best team rather than last, they aren't good enough to warrant risking Manning's health more than the Broncos need to. But you're watching because it's Monday Night Football, and Terrelle Pryor will do at least one thing that will make your head spin.   

Rap Music and the evolution of Post 9/11 lyrics

September 11, 2011 was the day that my favorite rap album, The Blueprint, was released. Clearly, this is the smallest result of the day that affected so many. Thousands of people died, people’s perceptions of national security were changed forever and many troops have been sent overseas in response.  However, in a lot of ways music is the way that people cope after breakups, after loss and after tragedy. After 9/11, there were many rap songs that addressed the event but as the years go on, more lyrics use 9/11 as a punchline. 

The first effect I remember was massive censorship of lyrics with any references to explosions, hijacking and anything that sounded like a reference to the attacks.

"Now I'm in the limelight cause I rhyme tight
Time to get paid, blow up like the World Trade" - Notorious B.I.G. (Juicy)

The Notorious B.I.G.’s song Juicy came out 7 years before the attacks, and the artist was shot and killed 4 years before the attacks.  The blow up line is a reference to the first World Trade Center attacks in 1993. The phrase “blow up” as he uses it was slang for “gaining fame/money rapidly”. However, this line was censored following the attacks.

The first references to the attacks I remember were in "Patiently Waiting" by 50 Cent and Eminem

“Shady Records was eighty seconds away from the towers
Some cowards fucked with the wrong building, they meant to hit ours” – Eminem

In the following months and years, many rap videos used American flag motifs with my favorite being Fabolous’s "Can’t Deny It" just because of how comically overdone it is.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

Welcome to the Empire State

Home of the World Trade

Birthplace of Michael Jordan" - Jay-Z (Welcome to New York City)

"It's the home of 9-11, the place of the lost towers

We still bangin', we never lost power, tell em

Welcome to New York City, welcome to New York City" - Juelz Santana (Welcome to New York City)

"I put dollars on mine, ask Columbine

When the Twin Towers dropped, I was the first in line

Donating proceeds off every ticket sold

When I was out on the road, that's how you judge Hov, no?

Ain't I supposed to be absorbed in myself?

Every time there's a tragedy, I'm the first one to help

They call me this misogynist, but they don't call me the dude" - Jay-Z (BluePrint 2)

There were lots of lines that blame the government for the attacks or discuss related conspiracy theories

"Why do niggas push pounds and powder?

Why did Bush knock down the towers?" - Jadakiss (Why?)

"Cause nigga, I don't believe that

Like 9/11 came from Iraq" - Lupe Fiasco (SLR Super Lupe Rap)

"Ain’t forgot about the Twin Towers, I blame Bush for them

Obama can’t speak on it ‘cause the government’s shushin’ him" - Game (Heaven's Arms)

However, the further away we get from the attacks the more 9/11 is used just as a punchline.

"This beat is a disaster, 9/11 this" - Childish Gambino (Freaks and Geeks)

"Fireman to her rescue like 9-11" Lil Wayne (On Fire)

"Doing it big, it's going down, 9/11

I'm doing it big, pulling up in a 911" - Rick Ross (Super High)

“Gunfire leave brethren remains like it's 9/11” - Clipse (Chinese New Year)

"See her man face-to-face through the glass

On the phone. 10 years he got, chasin' that cash

Cocaine, he had that game in a smash

Felt like the Towers when the planes went on crash

It wasn't 9-11, but it was 9-1-1

Gave him 9 plus 1, dropped a dime on dun

I told him get his 9 and run

Turned himself in, I had to find that dumb" - Cam'ron (Lord You Know)

Considering my memories from that day, it feels bizarre that 9/11 is being used in a simile to describe how many guys someone has killed or something as frivolous as that. On the other hand part of coping, for better or worse is that the sting of the event goes away. As we go further and further from the event 9/11 becomes like any other national tragedy and will become the target of frivolous punchlines.  Rappers born after the attacks won’t remember or particularly care about the impact of the attacks, and the hijacked planes and buildings falling will just be something they saw on YouTube. 

Quick NFL Division Predictions

 

Every year I pick my divisions in an easy and obvious way. I go to every game in the schedule and then I pick who wins. It’s simple and straight forward. I see what teams I like and what teams I hate. I see what teams have a easy schedule and what teams might struggle. Normally I publish the numbers, but they are mostly useless, so I’m trying something new this year I’m just posting the order that they finish in the division.

 

AFC North

BAL
PIT
CIN
CLE

I somehow picked the Browns to win 2 games. I think the Browns are going to be good, but their schedule is murder. Pittsburgh is second place based largely on reputation and coaching. The Bengals are going to continue to be good.

AFC East

NE
MIA
BUF
NYJ

The Patriots are much better than everyone else in the East. Miami might be an 8-8 team though.

AFC West

KC
DEN
OAK
SD

I had the Chiefs and Broncos tied at the same amount of wins. The joys of being last in your division is that you get an easier schedule. Also, the Chiefs get an improvement at the offensive line positions. Oakland and San Diego could be the worst teams in the league.

AFC West

HOU
IND
TEN
JAX

Houston is decidedly better than the rest of the division. I think the Colts will regress. I’m not sure if the the Titans will be as bad as they appear to be.

NFC North

GB
CHI
MIN
DET

Another weird division. There are no bad teams here. I think that the Packers are the class of the division though.

NFC East

DAL
NYG
PHI
WAS

I have to be honest, I could imagine a scenario where any team in the division could be the champion. I’m not thrilled with the Giants offseason, but they’re still the Giants. They still have the best coach in the league. Washington has some really interesting pieces. Philadelphia could be exciting one way or another. As it happens, I’m a Cowboys fan. No surprise that I have them winning the whole thing. 

NFC West

SF
SEA
ARI
STL

I have the 49ers and Seahawks as playoff teams. Nothing special here.

 

NFC South

NO
ATL
TB
CAR

Perhaps the difference between the Saints and the Falcons is larger than I think, but why can’t the Saints win the division. The Falcons are decidedly worse on defense than they were last year. The Saints are going to be on a tear this year and I’m sure they have the talent to make things happen.

Writing about Trauma

    Writing is hard. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my blog and the increase in popularity this year. On one hand, when I have a post that I’m confident about I know that my work will be rewarded by having other people see it. When I have an idea, like discussing the Trayvon Martin case or what decisions I make before raising my hand in class, or whether the Thunder trading James Harden was really that bad of a move I know that other people will see it and comment on it. There was once a point where only one other person read my blog, and now my posts routinely get dozens of eyes.

    Trauma is a bit more difficult to deal with. When I’m at work, I deal with people’s trauma every day. I can listen to someones story and parse out what the best decisions are relatively quickly. I advise people every day about what they ought to do. My days are spent telling people “You should do this; you shouldn’t do that; you should do this, but not right now; you shouldn’t do this now but later you will” and then convincing them why it’s a good idea. I feel that my day is spent doing triage, more than anything else. Mostly, my advice just involves making sure that people aren’t worse off afterwards than they would have been.

Dealing with other people’s trauma is easy, writing about my own trauma here is not. There’s a post that I’ve wanted to write, but every time I draft it in any way, no matter which angle I take, or which facts I choose to use or not to use to support my point it still is too emotionally draining to publish. Writing about the good things that happen in my life is something that I don’t like doing on my blog, mostly because I always feel that the good things are uninteresting and often are things that I can’t talk about anyway due to privacy concerns. Writing about my own struggles is something that I’ve wanted to do (See "I still stay awake at night"), but there’s a lot in my life that I still haven’t found the correct angle to use, or that I haven’t found the right way to describe.  Even when I do have an angle that I’m comfortable with, having enough permission from others to discuss the situation in the way that I wish to is challenging because points of view often conflict. I find it funny that at work, the majority of my day talking about, discussing and mitigating the traumatic experiences of others, but at home on my blog I’m often unable to. When I was in high school, I wrote poems to deal with the lows of life. (Unrelated: It’s been 9 years since i wrote Loveless). Now, I use my blog as an outlet for the frustrating parts of my life.

I use the word trauma here, because that’s how certain life events feel to me. Traumatic experiences are by definition negative, but often something good comes out of those situations. I feel that if I had the right way of describing it (my often used refrain for posts like this is “Great Idea, Bad Writer”), I’d have more posts with those personal stories. I think that describing the events that make you who you are, good or bad, helps readers/listeners to understand the person you became. For example, my hearing loss isn’t the entirety of my being, but I certainly think that telling people that I’m hearing impaired helps them to understand who I am and the decisions that I make. More importantly, these stories are extremely interesting.

Eventually, there may be a story about my hearing loss here at some point. There may be a post about Loving v. Virginia and its relationship to DOMA, and my feelings towards both. There may be post about other experiences in my life that I haven’t yet discussed. But more importantly, there will be sports discussion. There will be album reviews and posts about music lyrics. More importantly, I will make a good-faith attempt to ensure that each post here on The 5 Year Plan is a worthy read, even if the author isn’t always a worthy writer.

In Defense of Wainwright

I spent a lot of time in my Criminal Procedure classes being frustrated with the criminal justice system. The system still allows for mistreatment of racial and ethnic minorities, treats the poor more harshly than the rich, and puts people in jail with little meaningful recourse. However, there was one thing in habeas corpus cases that did create a ton of confusion for me that might be surprising given my general beliefs about the world and about law enforcement.

I never spent much time thinking about the parties in Gideon v. Wainwright, the most important case for what I want to do with my future. Everyone vaguely familiar with criminal law knows the story of Clarence Earl Gideon, the indigent man accused of a burglary who requested that the court provide him with a lawyer because he was too poor to afford one. When the court denied his request he eventually took his case to the Supreme Court with a handwritten letter. He said that his right to counsel was denied. (Spoiler alert: He wins, and now there are Public Defender / Legal Aid systems throughout the country to provide counsel for indigent people accused of crimes).

But what of Wainwright? In most court cases, the petitioner accuses the respondent of some wrongdoing. States aren’t allowed to be sued by individuals thanks to sovereign immunity. When states are sued, the nominal entry is usually the head of the department being sued. In this case, the nominal entry was Louie L. Wainwright. Wainwright was the Secretary of the Florida Division of Corrections from 1962 to 1987. The problem that I have is that Wainwright did nothing to wrong Gideon. In his official capacity, Wainwright could do nothing to remedy Gideon’s situation. More importantly, there are players who have a less tenuous connection to the case.

There was a police officer who wrongly arrested him, a prosecutor who tried his case, and a judge who denied his request to have a lawyer. Each of these people, in their official capacity could have prevented Gideon from going to jail. Each of these people, in their official capacity could be considered to be at fault. Where this makes the most sense would be to have the judge listed as the nominal entry in the Supreme Court case. The police officer and prosecutor, who affected his trial as it related to his innocence of the crime, have nothing to do with why he was heard by the Supreme Court, namely a 6th amendment violation. The trial court judge, who denied Gideon’s request for a lawyer, was the person most connected to the petitioner’s grievance. Wainwright didn’t even hold the position when Gideon was first convicted. Wainwright didn’t get the job until July of 1962 over a year after the burglary happened.

The question is why does it matter? Wainwright probably didn’t lose any sleep over this, and the Gideon case wasn’t the only case where he was listed as a party. I do find it interesting that defense-minded law students look at this case every year and don’t even think about the respondent. It certainly seems mildly unjust that a person having nothing to do with why Gideon was in jail is listed on the case. It seems unjust that a case that deals with one of the major injustices of criminal law has a respondent who didn't create or perpetuate it. It matters because even Louie L. Wainwright deserves some defense.

24 lyrics from my 24th year

I did a post similar to this one last year. I listen to a lot of music, and great lyrics are important to me. This post serves partially as a way of telling the story of how my last year went, from my 23rd to my 24th birthday. It also gives me an opportunity to talk about songs, albums and mixtapes that were released within the last year that I haven’t had a chance to blog about. Also, the normal curse word caveats appear here. I’m not censoring a word of the lyrics, and the N-word is featured prominently throughout.

“I woke up this morning and figured I'd call you
In case I'm not here tomorrow, I'm hoping that I can borrow A piece of mind, I'm behind on what's really important
My mind is really distorted, I find nothing but trouble in my life”
-Kendrick Lamar (Sing about me, I’m dying of thirst)

The opening bars from the first verse of “Sing about me, I’m dying of thirst” are the best way to describe how my last year went. After a tumultuous previous year, I searched for peace of mind. Because of a lot of life changes (single for the first time as an adult, leaving home, moving from Springfield Gardens, NY to Boulder, CO., starting law school) I had to rediscover myself. Also, since I won’t mention Kendrick Lamar for the rest of this post, “Good kid, Maad City” was a very enjoyable album. Other than the small problem of the songs, “The Recipe” and “Black Boy Fly” only showing up in the deluxe version, the album is amazing.

"Just got word from my mans on the island, he said he needed guidance
Niggas on the streets is wilding, he look to God but can't find him
So he demand silence from the glaring sirens
The sympathy symphony, only thing playing is the banned violence"
- Joey Bada$$ (Hardknock)

Last summer a lot of people reached out to me to discuss rap music. One of the best things to come out of these conversations was that one of my classmates said I should listen to a kid named Joey Bada$$. I wasn’t excited at first. Joey Bada$$ sounds like a name a kid in junior high school comes up with. I decided to listen to the song anyway and I was glad that I did. It had a nice throwback boom-bap beat. I ended up downloading and enjoying the mixtape “1999”. 

"So as you hear me dropping this rhyme
Know my opportunity could've been stopped at a dime
The life you choose come from lack of options sometimes
Gotta do what you gotta do, even opt into crime
And who am I? Without name-dropping it, I'm
Someone who saw the top and didn't stop, he just climbed" 
– Fabolous(Transformation)

The last year has been amazing to me. I’ve been doing public defender work and I love it. Last year around this time I struggled with my decision to do public defender work and not switch to something that paid more. Public defender work is more rewarding and I do it because I love it.

"They say a woman cancel dates ‘cause she has to
And a man cancel dates ‘cause he has two
Well, I got two dates, one with destiny
I need more, baby, don’t think any less of me"- Fabolous (Only Life I Know)

Fabolous’s mixtape “The Soul Tape 2” is amazing by the way. Fabolous’s music is generally pretty solid, and the fact that the Soul Tape 2 is free helps.

"And I try, sit alone and I cry
Yo I won't tell no lie, not a moment goes by
That I don't pray to the sky, please I'm beggin’ you God
Please don't let me be pigeonholed in no regular job
Yo I hope you can hear me homey wherever you are
Yo I'm tellin’ you dawg I'm bailin’ this trailer tomorrow
Tell my mother I love her, kiss baby sister goodbye
Say whenever you need me baby, I'm never too far
But yo I gotta get out there, the only way I know
And I'mma be back for you, the second that I blow
On everything I own, I'll make it on my own" - Eminem (8 mile)

I still struggle with the decision to leave NY, even though I know that it was for the best. There were a lot of unintentional benefits to leaving NY. I got to see the world through a new lens. 

“Con los Terroristas... Do the Harlem Shake” - Baauer (Harlem Shake)

I loved the Harlem Shake videos. Mostly, because I always enjoy funny videos, but also because I love the song. I didn’t get the racial backlash for two reasons. First, the original Harlem Shake was a fad that was dead. Performing the original Harlem Shake in 2012 would have gotten you laughed out of any club (unless it was done to be intentionally ironic I suppose). Second, I strongly doubt that most of the people who made the Harlem Shake videos (based on Baauer’s song) had any idea of what the Harlem Shake was, or even particularly cared. No one listens to Welcome to the Jungle by Jay-Z and thinks of it as disrespectful of the original song.

“Sean you looking tired, damn homie that’s all
I’ve been stressin’ so hard I’m surprised I ain't going bald
Haters praying I fall, move back in with my moms
Take online classes and turn back into ya’ll, hatin’ ” - Big Sean (100)

“I’m just a Detroit nigga, nothing extra about me
I go extra hard at the first second you doubt me
I strive for perfection at the same time
I’m accepting the fact that there’ll never be nothing perfect about me”
- Royce Da 5’9 (100)

Big Sean’s an artist I really enjoy. To be fair, I pretty much like everyone under the G.O.O.D. Music umbrella. His Detroit mixtape was a feel good record.

"I'm gonna be everything I wanna be So I'm gonna be what I wanna be And say, I'm gonna be, I'm gonna be I'm gonna, I'm, I'm gonna be" – Big Sean (I’m gonna be)

Another catchy song on Big Sean’s Detroit mixtape. I’m very excited about Big Sean’s new LP coming this summer.

"And it's God fearing, foreign car steering
60 thou Chopard wearing, just beat a trial hearing
You should catch me walking cocky out the courtroom (diddy bopping!)
Like eat my dust, a buck 40 for the Porsche zoom (ZOOOOOOOOOM!)
Back in population (what else?) We cop drops to race 'em (BALLIIIING!)
We getting money over here WHAT'S YOUR OCCUPATION?!?!" - Jim Jones (Reppin Time)

Is it possible to listen to Reppin Time and not feel better afterwards? I didn’t think so.

“I don’t never feel pain, cause I done felt too much pain” - Future (Pain)

I love the chorus to Pain. I hope that My Name is My Name, Pusha T’s debut album is as good as I expect it to be. Wrath of Caine, Pusha T’s recent mixtape, wasn’t as good as I thought it would be. Not that it was bad, it just was mediocre. Nothing special. Given my love for the Clipse’s previous catalogue I’m rooting for the album. 

"No joke, blow smoke, thought I had no hope
Then I copped the yacht guess I showed boats!
Yeah, guess I showboat
Catch me on a water baby, that's how hope floats" - Cam’ron (You Know This)

See, because he has a yacht, he’s showing his boat. But he’s bragging about it, like showboating. Get it? But seriously, sometimes lines don’t require explanation, but corny jokes can sometimes be just as funny. Thanks Cam’ron for adding levity to my life. This song was a nice way to “start the year off right”.
“Sierra Hotel India Echo Lima Delta, Shield”- The Shield’s opening theme makes me just as happy as any song does. Ryback, not as much.

"And I ain't too proud to tell you That I cry sometime, I cry sometimes about it
And girl I know it hurt, but if this world was perfect
Then we can make it work but I doubt it" - J.Cole (Lost Ones)

We all have regrets. I didn’t listen to the Sideline Story when it first came out but I’m glad I came back to it. My friend had me listen to the song “Lost Ones” and it was amazing.

“(I know one thing) Anything is better than that 1 Train” – A$AP Rocky

I could complain about the problems that Boulder, Colorado has, but even on the worst days out here, it still beats the long subway rides from Queens to Manhattan. Also, this posse cut by A$AP, Joey, Kendrick Lamar and others was amazing and the highlight of A$AP Rocky’s debut album.

“R.I.P. R.I.P. R.I.P. R.I.P. R.I.P. we just killed the club” - Young Jeezy

I spent a lot of Saturday nights on Pearl Street. One of the joys of being single.

“I sleep with one eye open like an insomnia-stricken Cyclops
Cause I could rest in that pine box” -Crooked I (Slaughterhouse 20 Minute Freestyle)

“Brave move trying test my resolve
with no grind. Come Showtime I'm like Dexter to y'all
Just based off what I'm hearing from the rest of New York
Quite honestly I should be the best by default”
- Joe Budden (Slaughterhouse 20 Minute Freestyle)

I think I listened to this freestyle every day on the way to work for about a month. Everyone in the Slaughterhouse conglomerate put in quality verses. Just talking about Crooked I’s bars, my insomnia has gotten much better. Before I never went to sleep before 12 and often went to sleep at 2, 3 and often closer to 5. Much of that was stress based. Now, I’m falling asleep at (around) 10 PM. My sleeping habits aren’t great, but it’s much better to be asleep when everyone else is. In reference to Budden’s work, I’m a huge fan of the Dexter line.

“Your pops wasn’t no gangster, he was just another lost nigga
You think it’s gangster to let a mother love that dope more than her daughter?
Shoot a father from his son and turn around and put that boy on the corner?
Or leave your son out here alone to fend for himself, knowin he need order?
Is your money being long worth your lifespan bein shorter? Huh?”
– Loaded Lux (Loaded Lux v. Calicoe)

I’m a huge fan of these lines delivered by Loaded Lux. This isn’t from a song, but from a rap battle. In battle raps, a general theme is toughness. A lot of lines delivered are about violence, crime, and the perils of the neighborhood that he participants are from. To say that rap battles glamorize violence would be somewhat inaccurate, but violence and willingness to use violence are definitely used as a positive. In the last round of this battle, Loaded Lux flips that paradigm. Calicoe’s father is in prison and was a major drug lord. Calicoe’s often raps about that and has unquestionable “street cred” as a result of it. Lux, rather than try to show that he’s tougher than Calicoe, which would be the typical strategy in a rap battle, he questions whether we should view Calicoe’s father’s life as a positive. Now, it was in the course of a battle, and the lines were used more to win the battle, than to prove a point, but they are something to think about. Lux was viewed as having beaten Calicoe decisively in that round.

“I’m the man little do they know, little do they know” - King L (Val Venis)

Hello Ladies! 2012 had a lot of one verse songs that were catchy. My favorite one was this one that referenced an Attitude Era wrestler with a funny gimmick. The chorus, mentioned here is simple and great at the time. I also remember listening to this song along with Love Sosa by Chief Keef and All Gold Everything, when I came back to New York and had an opportunity to hang out with a couple of friends. None of those songs are good lyrically, but they are outside of my usual taste in rap music and the songs were more fun than good in a typical sense.

If I got to choose a coast I got to choose the East
I live out there, so don't go there
But that don't mean a nigga can't rest in the West
- Notorious B.I.G. (Goin Back to Cali)

DLB in SPG. (The SPG stands for Springfield Gardens, the neighborhood in New York City that I’m from.) The name isn’t going to change no matter where I live. Home is in the 718, no matter where I happen to live. On another note, this year, I spent a few months analyzing the N-word, reading internet articles, law review articles and cases about the (mis)use of the word. I don’t get excited about people using it when quoting rap lyrics and I planned to write a blogpost about it. I ended up writing a 20 page seminar paper. (Don’t ask for a copy, it’s not every good). Essentially, people have argued that because the word appears in rap music, that it’s acceptable to use the word. Seeing it in cases has affected my thoughts about people using the word. I don’t care if someone uses it, but I completely understand if other people care.

“Wobble baby, wobble baby, wobble baby, wobble” - V.I.C. (Wobble)

Before this year, I hadn’t heard this song. I found myself dancing to it a lot, an insane amount really. 

“I got the big beat”-  Billy Squier (The Big Beat)

Until otherwise notified, Billy Squier is the Genghis Khan of rap music. In the same way that Khan’s genetics passed throughout all of Asia, this song has been sampled and interpolated for an insane amount of songs and freestyles including Hip Hop is Dead by Nas, 99 problems by Jay-Z, Jackin for Beats by Ice Cube and Ain’t No Half Steppin by Big Daddy Kane. It’s also the background music for the 2011 XXL Freshman cyphers.
I found myself looking through the digital crates listening to the samples used in rap songs. One of my favorite Spotify playlists is “Kanye West Samples” (Here’s one for example-  Rick Ross voice). I listened to so many great songs as a result of that expedition. Otis Redding, Curtis Mayfield and King Crimson coexist perfectly here.

“You float like a feather In a beautiful world I wish I was special You're so fucking special

But I'm a creep I'm a weirdo What the hell am I doing here? I don't belong here” - Radiohead (Creep)

Fun Fact: The first time I heard this song was... this year. Creep came out 20 years ago. One of the perks of being in Boulder is how much more diverse my musical tastes are. I now have the opportunity to listen to more types of music. Still, my tastes lead to mostly rap music, but it’s nice to have options.

“But I'm here for a greater purpose, I knew right from the start
I'm just a man of the people, not above but equal
And for the greater good I walk amongst the evil
Don't cry mama, this the life I choose myself
Just pray along the way that I don't lose myself” – J. Cole (Let Nas Down)

J.Cole’s verse in “Let Nas Down” was amazing, as most of J. Cole’s new album is.  He has a lot of songs that have incredible density. The reason I’m using these lines to end my post should be self explanatory.
=======================================================
Honorable mention:
“So I typed a text to a girl I used to see Sayin' that I chose this cutie pie with whom I wanna be And I apologize if this message gets you down Then I CC'ed every girl that I'd see-see 'round town” - Outkast (Int’l Players Anthem)
“You wanna battle me? I'll battle you and shatter your dreams I said ‘what up’, he said ‘what up’ I took your girl so ‘what up’ The crowd screamed, he threw the towel man enough is enough Now I'm on my way, it's a beautiful day Sun shining on my back man what more can I pray” - Jay Electronica (I Feel Good)
“I can't go home, it's not on my way” - Elliot Smith (L.A.)
"6 months, and I'm still at it You'll probably never hear this track but I still rapped it I guess I'm still attracted to you being here I swear I can't imagine you would not even care Whole thing played out like magic and it’s kinda weird It's like I did a trick and you won't reappear It ain't fair, I need you back sometimes I get scared But I'm a player, ain't gonna let you see my tears" - Joey Bada$$ (PennyRoyal)
“ Work, Work, Work, Work, Bounce” -Pop That French Montana
I'm haunted by horror stories, wanna-be home owners Horrible outcome, a dope boy got one motive Cries when he convicted, cried on every visit I'm cryin' sayin' his name, ride for all my niggas - Rick Ross (Millions)
For my theme song
My leather black jeans on
My by-any-means on
Pardon, I'm getting my scream on  - Kanye West (Black Skinhead)

Where "Writing Cogently About Sports" Happens

 

Mike Lupica, Filip Bondy, Bill Gallo, Mighty Quinn

When it comes down to it, when I first started to really care about sports, these were the people whose eyes that I viewed sports through. I would pick up the NY Daily News and rush to the back so I could read Lupica and Bondy's columns. I'd check for Gallo's sports cartoons. I'd glance at Quinn's betting lines and short non-sequiturs. When I was too young to follow every sporting event on my own, I'd read the Daily News in the morning afterward and figure out what happened. My favorite column was Lupica's Shooting from the Lip. In the weekly column he'd write a page and a half about some major article and then complete the page with a short remarks about different sports events from the week. Before I was able to listen to ESPN's podcasts, or check out the blogs of my favorite teams that was my way of finding out what happened and getting some commentary on the topic.

Now, I write about sports. I try to do it every week but I'm a law student first and law school and the other events of my early 20's come first. This season I've written 13 posts about the NBA. My idea when this season started was to talk about the future schedule. A lot of my friends have some interest in basketball, but they don't know a ton about the impending stories. The friends that I have that are sports addicts like I am are often too busy to check what games are going to be good before they happen. What I wanted to do was provide an place for showing what games in the coming week would be worth watching and explain, in some way or another, why they would be worth paying attention to.

A fellow law student came to me and said that I "write cogently about sports". In a lot of ways, that response is all I could ask for. I get about a dozen hits a week, so the blog isn't exactly ESPN, but I've been writing on this blog for almost 5 years now, and a dozen hits per article is more than I could ask for. More importantly, people have come to me to discuss the things that I've written about. It's meant a lot to me and I'm incredibly grateful for everything. I've found my voice. I don't see myself as providing the same level or quality of service that Lupica once gave me, but hopefully, people who come across my blog get something out of it. Thanks to all of the people who help me with my posts, help me find weaknesses in my arguments before they enter the internet, and to the person who read my blog back when no one else did. Thanks for reading.