Just an excuse to post lyrics really.

"Yung'uns ice-grilling me, oh - you're not feeling me?
Fine; it cost you nothing - pay me no mind
Look, I'm on my grind cousin, ain't got time for fronting
Sensitive thugs, you all need hugs
Damn though mans I'm just trying do me
If the record's two mill I'm just trying move three" - Jay-Z (Heart of the City

I'm 2 months away from leaving for Colorado. That's all

BET setting people up to fail.

This post is all about the BET awards last night. Oh boy. First, lets talk about the good things that happened last night.

Kevin Hart- Had a memorable performance as the host of the event. Kept it clean with no need for BET's censors during the live portions of his performance.

Nick Cannon- Openly admitted he couldn't rap as well as eminem as self deprecating humor. Hillarious.

Wiz Khalifa's speech after winning best new artist- I don't win these things often. It just came across as humble, and the awards shows don't have enough of that.

Now that the good is out of the way lets talk about the bad.

The general problem with BET is that there are 2 completely seperate audiences and it appears that the person who runs BET has an audience that they don't want. BET is a station for gospel R&B and other family friendly fare. It is also a station that has rap music, The game, and other decidedly unfamily friendly fare. BET over the last few years comes across as a station that doesn't really want to embrace the rap music with all of the qualities that come with it but has to because much of its audience is the rap generation.

This problem is generally fine in that its sunday audience is purely gospel and that other times like the Hip Hop Awards are solely dedicated to rap. It's where those two generations diverge that it becomes a problem. This is the BET awards where other than blackness there really is no common ground between Lil Wayne and Patti Labelle. Some jokes fall flat like the botched Anthony Weiner joke early in the performance and the Justin beiber joke where he said it was his first time at the BET awards both with not so subtle racial jokes, but that's normal. However there are further issues.

Problem: Every live performance with a rapper who curses- Every single rapper on stage cursed last night. Fine. But pick one or the other. The censoring was awful. It seems like BET allows its performers to rap the songs in their original versions but the censors try to bleep out all the bad words.

Solution: I've got a few.

Option 1) Tape delay. I understand the problem that BET has. Artistic integrity with songs that have bad words. For the sake of preventing the FCC fines, they have to censor these words. If you're going to allow songs like "Look at me now" to be performed, then do it on tape delay so that the censors don't have the impossible job of trying to decide which one of Busta Rhymes' words is bleepable. You can't do that live. Big Sean kept it clean in his perfomance and got censored because there were bad words in the original version in the song and they expected him to curse, which is usually hillarious.

Option 2) Tell the rappers to clean it up. Simple. Tell them they have to perform the clean version. That way the censors have less work to do.

Option 3) Have the show play later. Kids shouldn't be up at 11 PM anyway so if chris brown is talking "about his dick" it won't offend the audience.

Problem: Chris Brown, I mean Rihanna, I mean are you serious right now?

I laughed at Tiffany Amber Green or whatever her name is just like everyone else did. In reading the winner of the Viewers Choice award, she looks at the tablet and exclaims "Chris Brown!". Then she squints at the screen (apparently at a teleprompter) and says Rihanna. Then she looks on stage and Drake is coming up. I immediately thought she was at fault for obvious reasons. In my case, I thought she forgot her contacts/glasses, and in trying to be cute, couldn't see the writing at all. What later came out was stranger than fiction. Kevin Hart comes out on the stage at the end and clears up the confusion by saying Chris did indeed win the award. What happened was that the teleprompter gave the wrong name. Clearly, Drake got the wrong information as well, as the song had Rihanna featuring Drake. Also, a BET head admitted that he screwed up the situation and that it was his fault. Tiffany was set up to fail on that one. So was Chris Brown, imagine if he had also been walking up to the stage. Luckily there was no Good Morning America situation, and Breezy showed some maturity and didn't have an anger management moment. Of course, it may have helped that Chris Brown didn't do any further talking that night.

Solution: Tape delay. Would have solved everything, they could have done a lot of things to prevent that screw up. Live is overrated anyway.

Selfish post (happy birthday to me)

22 years ago today, the Yankees took a day off, so that I could be born without any distractions. 22 years later I finally watched my first full game in Yankee Stadium. The stars aligned in all the right ways. My mom was able to get tickets. My brother was able to come with me.  It is Old timers day. They were playing against the Colorado Rockies aka my future hometown team.

So I met up with my brother and we watched the Old timers day game play out. Tino Martinez hit a beautiful homer to right field. Nothing else important other than seeing Wells, Cone and my other Yankee heroes.

The game was rocky (excuse the pun). Colorado got ahead early. Nunez, Jeters replacement was having all types of issues at the plate and in the field. Luckily Nova held his ground, the bullpen kept the lead from growin and 3 home runs by Swisher and Posada which my brother called and one by the Texecutioner in the 8th that he hit right after I said " well I'm not that worried, he does lead the league in home runs right".

Best parts of the game. Huge helping of Chicken Tenders and fries. Clutch. And of course, the moment I waited forever for. Metallica's "Enter Sandman" blaring over the loudspeaker. Mariano Rivera comes out like the 30th guy in the Royal Rumble. The stadium is electric. 3 quick outs. Game over.

And of course people wishing me happy birthday at all times of the day.  Gotta love it.   

Against being anti-lebron, supports jokes about Lebron

"But it seems a rather odd paradigm. I mean, when guys like James or Wade, or a sizeable portion of the NBA for that matter, were adolescents leaping over tall buildings in the blighted streets of despair, we didn't really care, did we? We were too busy with our own lives. But once they make out of the 'hood, it's like they owe us something. Neither Akron nor Cleveland gave LeBron James his talent. God provided that. Akron and Cleveland just got a front row seat." - Alan smith (The post game)

http://www.thepostgame.com/commentary/201106/hypocrisy-lebron-hatred

I'm not pro-Lebron by any means, I'm indifferent to him as a player. He doesn't play center, and he isn't a Ron Artest/ Shane Battier/ Bruce Bowen level defender. Regular readers and followers know that I'm highly annoyed by the level of hate that Lebron recieved for leaving Cleveland and going to Miami in the way he did. I've always been pro-decision for the following reasons.

1) He clearly wanted to win. Not get the most money possible and scrape team owners for everything they had, he wanted to win. Sure having Dwayne Wade is an easier route, but how else do you beat teams like the Celtics big 3, by waiting for them to get too old.
2) He gave Cleveland a great amount of effort for the entirety of his tenure there and unlike the Eddy Curry types in the world, he played continuoutsly even when the chips were down.
3) He didn't force his way out like Melo. He played out his contract, did his best to succceed and made the decision that was best for him.
4) Who cares if he left Cleveland high and dry. He clearly didn't like management there, why should he be loyal to them. Sure they were the team that drafted him, but in 2003 every team would have drafted him in a heart beat. He's not even from Cleveland. Proximity doesn't breed loyalty. If I went to Brooklyn Law School and transferred to Stanford people wouldn't expect me to be loyal because I'm from Queens.
5) It's your fault for comparing him to Jordan. He doesn't have any Jordan in his DNA. He, like Dirk, and Nate Robinson to an extent is his own prototype, there hasn't been a player like him before. This was known coming into the league he's a 6'8, hyperathletic, drive to the basket player, built like a Mack truck. Yes he wore the number 23, but so did Ron Artest, Marcus Camby. Shelden Williams and Byron Mullens still wear it.

Now everything he did wasn't exactly gold to say the least. While I believe that Lebron had a right to make "The Decision" during primetime and during the awful period for non-baseball sports fans like myself, I found it to pretty much be a waste of time. During the summer law program, many people were in the lobby of the dorm transfixed in front of the television waiting for him to say what team he was going to. He could have made it a 30 minute production though. Lebron could have told Cleveland: hey, it was a tough decision and you guys are great fans, but I've got to do what's best for me, and Dan Gilbert sucks as a boss and as a human being. I've got friends in Miami and I'm taking my talents there.

My gripe with Lebron, he needs a post game and/or a consistent midrange jumpshot. You're built like a tight end. Just try it. Players who don't get one or the other become forgotten after they turn 30.

Smack!

I care tonight. Tonight is the NBA draft and I'm all in on these players.

1. Jan vesely

Why do I care about a player no one has heard of. One he dunks like crazy. Two, he's czech. I'm always susceptible to following dunkers and seeing how they do. Joe alexander: not a great player. Blake Griffin: a monster. Vesely: somewhere in the middle. Likely closer to Alexander though.

2. Chris singleton (florida state)

Another description that always will get me interested is defensive sf. If you get comparisons to ron artest, I'm interested. The best case scenario: he goes to a defensive team like the spurs or bucks where his 3 point liability is better hidden. Worse case: the golden state warriors or the phoenix suns where he'll be firing off 3 pointers like a madman.

3. The God

Bismack Biyombo has me the most excited. When the scouting report for a player is "blocks and dunks" as my friend kyle put it, that's all I need. In a flawed draft this sounds like a great player to have. He comes off the bench, puts in work, gets the crowd into a frenzy. The comparison that comes to mind is Birdman in Denver. I reccomend that everyone in the arena should just yell "Smack" everytime he gets a block. I'm so excited about seeing this guy in a uniform.   

The perils of drinking and driving

"I was drinking earlier, now I'm driving" - Kanye West (Power)

"Friends don't let jackasses drink and drive. - @ebertchicago

This week Ryan Dunn died. Apparently he, like so many people, was drinking and drove afterward. He was had a BAC of .196 which, to compare, is double the legal limit in New York where I'm from. People are quick to blame Roger Ebert for tweeting that he was a jackass. Ebert was quick to call him one. I'm somewhere in the middle. Ebert was right in what he said, but "too soon" doesn't begin to describe that statement. Ryan Dunn shouldn't have done it, but he's dead and so is the passenger in the car with him, so running it to the ground has no purpose.
On one hand, DUIs are treated so liberally by society anyway. Football players get them seemingly every week. One of my favorite podcastsm ESPN: Football Today, has a sound drop that says "Attention NFL players : Don't drink and drive" with a police siren in the background. In Florida, Donte Stallworth killed a man while drinking and driving. People are always in court for DUIs in Queens Criminal Court, because as many forget, it is a serios offense that carries a fine and or jailtime depending on the seriousness of it.
Now certainly some of these incidents are more serious than others. Some drive after a beer, some drive completely hammered, and clearly a distinction should be drawn. But why do it at all. Why put yourself in a risky situation especially when its not difficult to get out of it.

Wanna drink? Don't drive. Wanna drive? Don't drink.

By the way, I might put that on a t-shirt. I don't blame Dunn as much. Clearly it was a bad idea with fatal consequences but more importantly where were his friends. Did no one tell him that this was a bad idea? No one called a cab for this guy? Offered a ride? No sober designated drivers? I'm often too quick to blame society for stuff that happens but there are many ryan dunns who will die and have died because people just don't take drinking and driving seriously.

My blogpost about... my blogposts.

For the people who are new here, also known as pretty much everybody. I've been writing this blog for about 2 years now. Pretty much the title is about my life as it is and as its going to be. My 5 year plan as of 2 years ago was to become a lawyer. I've been trying to write about the stuff that got me there, and the stuff that makes me who I am without being too personal about it.

Here's what you'll find here.

1) Lots of sports predictions, many which won't come true. I picked against Dallas in every series except the OKC series, for example. I pick the cowboys to do well, often.
2) Video game stuff. If you're here at all, you probably care a little bit.
3) Big moves I make on the way to graduating law school. The trip to Colorado which caused me to decide to move there is mentioned. The minor tests that I've taken, not so much.
4) My thoughts on big topics, usually revolving around law or sports.
5) Stuff that people ask me to write about as long as it doesn't violate the rules below

What you won't find here

1) Pictures of me in my boxers. I am not a congressman.
2) Gripes about people in my life, including my girlfriend. I figure the best way to keep them as part of my next 3 years is not to blast them online. I've already been down that road. Thanks, Xanga. But I do occasionally make subtle not-so subtle references to things that my friends do and say, because they are often my inspiration.
3) Unbased negative commentary about the Dallas Cowboys. They are God's team after all.

/meta

Cheevo update

1. So after months of waiting how long did it take me to surpass all of my friends in Gamerscore for Marvel Vs. Capcom 3? Here's the short answer. 9 PM tonight.

So pretty much less than a week to surpass my friends who have had the game for about 2-3 months. sounds about right.

To be fair, it wouldn't be the first time I've done this. Hot pursuit, Mortal Kombat, Soul Calibur IV, Hexic. I seek, I conquer.



2. The music games were much harder than i thought they would be. I've made some progress in Band Hero towards the 555 stars and 50 diamond or platinum challenges achievements, but that's pretty much it there, no gamerscore to show for it. In Beatles Rock Band I beat the chapter challenges and got the note streak.

350 note streak in Hey Bulldog
Completing the chapter challenges+ 5 star the challenges + all photos

Total GamerScore: 70G

3. Madden

No achivement news but played two great games. Gotta start using teams with better O-lines if I'm going to play against blitzers. The Cowboys O-line isn't gonna do it.

4. NBA 2k11

I'm labbing again. Working on a post game for my center, trying to time my jumpshot better. Trying to max out my centers. 200 wins certainly won't happen though.

5. Reach?

I'm not sure what my summer goal is in this game. I need to buy the hard drive if I'm going to improve in this game though.

6. Soul calibur IV

Got my transcend history and the world achievement. Not even trying for the level 20 ranked achievement, dont have the energy.

Reasons why the Mavs win is bad for the NBA

1. Big markets who are one or two superstars away from a big 3.

Yep, you're going to have to work hard now. The Knicks fans died a little when the heat lost. Not because of any love for the heat, but because now they know that getting Chris Paul or Dwight Howard won't translate into championship rings.

2. No ring for Bibby

After the Sacremento Screwjob, Bibby deserved a chance to be relevant during another title run. And as a side point, Dampier was dangled around for a long time as an expiring contract, it would have been sweet for him to get a ring at Dallas's expense.

3. All of the people who complain about stars who value money over winning

Wade, James, Bosh, Bibby, and Haslem, the best 5 players on the Heat all took less money for the chance to win. For years ppeople complained that all basketball players want to do is make money. Now there is essentially a team of players who left money on the table to win championship rings and build a Goliath of a team. Sure the big 3 made 110 million over 5 years as opposed to 120, but 10 million dollars is a lot of money to leave on the table. Haslem pretty much left a large percentage of his check on the table to stay with the team. Chalmers didn't, but he's on his rookie contract anyway.

4. If you thought you hated Mark Cuban before...

Mark Cuban haters should just know that now that his plan has worked, he will be insufferable for as long as he owns the Mavs.

5. People like me who are sick of Cleveland complaining.

I don't want to hear Dan Gilbert talking about Lebron like a psycho ex-boyfriend. It's getting really annoying. You're an owner of an NBA team. If Lebron's production had tailed off or he got hurt, Gilbert would have traded him for draft picks and an aging veteran in a second. Don't act like you were the loyal one and Lebron James was Arnold Schwarzeneggar. Lebron had the right to go and no loyalty neccessary. I don't want to hear about how bad Lebron was to you because his presence on the Cavaliers helped make Mr. Gilbert a richer man. I'm not impressed with letters written in Comic Sans and not-so subtweets.

6. The rise of the "working class"

No millionaires are part of Marx's proletariat by any means. That being said, I like the idea of the players controlling their destiny as far as who they play with and who they play against. Kobe and Shaq have problems, let them solve it or leave to play against each other. Dwight and CP3 were great teammates on some AAU team, let them join up again. Kevin Love and Russell Westbrook were a great one two punch in college, allow them to play with each other. As long as they dont violate their contracts, like what Melo essentially did, I have no problem with it.

Reasons why the Mavs win is good for the NBA

“And I search but never find / hurt but never cry / I work and forever try / but I’m cursed so never mind”



1. Cleveland, Toronto, Minnesota, and every other small market team lacking a super star has a chance.

To be fair, Toronto has no chance of being relevant anytime soon unless Jordan 2.0 is in this draft class.

2. Lebron James is going to have to work harder.

Lebron is seen as, amongst other things, an underachiever. He drives and shoots 3, that’s the extent of his game. To be fair, that certainly has worked for him in the past, but if he wants a ring like he says he does, he’s going to have to add either a post game or a more consistent midrange jumper. Kareem might be willing to give lessons. Maybe this is his talent cap and he’s going to end up as one of the Chris Webbers of the world, a person who had a fantastic career, retired as a top 100 all time player, made a lot of money playing a game he loved, but could have been much more.

3. Centers still matter.

Had the heat won this would have been the weakest set of big men to win a title in many years.

4. Kidd gets a ring.

The first time a player gets bounced from the NBA finals I have no pity, the second time it happens I want nothing more than for them to win. Jason Kidd has gotten bounced twice.

5. The redemption of Shawn Marion.

Marion was considered a “has been” in NBA circles, a player who took his money went from city to city and was an NBA vagabond. Now he’s a championship winner

Duke Nukem Forever

In a way I kinda wanted the game to be good. i wanted it to get 8.5's across the board, to be accepted in a new generattion as a game that still carried on the Duke Nukem Legacy. I liked the idea of an over the top game.

But really what is Duke's legacy. In a way, at this point he's a caricature of himself. The 1980's action movies that he imitated are now 20-30 years old, the references lost on many gamers now. People old enough to buy M-Rated games weren't yet born when the first Duke Nukem game came out, and were only 2 years old when the last one did. No one has been clamoring for the remakes because they are relics of a past generation. These are games that came out before Google existed. Game mechanics which were new are now completely outdated. Over the top action is now exemplified by the GTA series, whose first game hadn't even been released yet in 1996.

Another problem with the game's over the topness is the way women are portrayed. in the mid 90's a game with a humor style fitted for a pornographic film would have been more accepted, especially since gamers were mostly men. Nowadays, women comprise of a pretty large segment of the gaming population, and just from the trailers you can tell this is going to be bad. The benefit of GTA being around is that even though they use strip clubs and lapdances, women aren't treated in nearly the tawdry way as they are treated by duke. No one cares for a misogynist, especially since games of the last few years have used women as leads and sidekicks and to have a character like this, even in parody sets gaming back quite a few years. In reading reviews of the game, many terms that evoke images of sexual violence are used. Overt jokes and sight gags could get by in the 90's, but nowadays, not as much.

I realize a crux of this post is just me writing "Duke is old". Certain genres carry well over time. Puzzle games carry well over time. Shooters? Not as much. If you want proof of that try playing Goldeneye 64. Great at the time, but not at all now. As you can guess from the post, or already know, Duke has been pretty much universally panned as being awful despite everyone's best hopes. Everyone wanted the game to succeed to the point that Gearbox head Randy Pitchford bought the moribound franchise so that the game could be finished. But alas, it just isn't meant to be.

NFL Review from last year. Not perfect.

Since I'm not sure when/if the lockout will ever end, I'm going to publish my quick year end review, in response to last years year beginning predictions. Just to be clear next to every team i wrote how many games I thought they would win. I determine being right or wrong I was, not by getting the exact number of wins right, but for having a good overall idea of how the team would do. For example, I had the Packers winning 15 games, and indeed, even though they didn't win 15, they were dominant. The 49ers, not as much.

Pre-season predictions in italics

NFC South

NFC South
NO - 12
ATL - 11
CAR - 2
TB - 1

Heavy bias towards the Atl team and the SB champs. Heavy bias against the panthers and bucs. 2 teams have QBs and 2 don’t. Yawn.


Biggest Mistake:

Oh sure, you guys definitely knew going into last year that the Bucs were going to be good with a mediocre draft and a RB better known for actually punching people. But they’re good and I won’t be taking shots at Josh Freeman this year.


Right on the button:

Carolina was going to be awful. No passing game, no defense. Lost their best defensive player in free agency


NFC West

SF - 15
Ari - 5
STl - 5
Sea- 2

More obvious bias. I’m a bit shocked at the level of SF wins. I think I was a bit too trigger happy (10 wins is more reasonable). I probably should temper my expectations there. Everywhere else I’m confident.


Biggest Mistake:

I thought Mike Singletary could coach. I thought Crabtree was good. I feel like Lebron predicting championships.

Right on the button:
Arizona is a bad team. If a guy from Fordham starts at QB, your scouts should be fired.

NFC East


NFC East
DAL - 12
NYG - 7
WAS - 7
PHI - 6

My Boys bias is actually reasonable this year. I’m a bit scared of their schedule. Add the other teams to the who knows pile. I’m confident in the Washington pick though.


Biggest mistake

I’m a bit torn here. Clearly the Cowboys and Eagles picks were bad. The difference is that Kevin Kolb was supposed to be starting throughout the year. I was sure of it. Vick came in and led them to the NFC East crown. The Cowboys pick is less defensible. The O-line was awful. Truly and completely awful. And yet I picked them to win that many games.

Right on the button

The skins not being very good.


NFC North
GB - 15
Min - 10
DET - 7
Chi - 5

But I hate the packers. I blame Billy for selling me on this team. That and BJ Raji who’s on my all time exciting college player team. (Also inclusive of Orakpo, Suh, Mount, Cody, Crabtree, Dez Bryant)

Biggest mistake

There is nothing too egregious here. The Vikings weren’t as good. The Bears were a playoff noisemaker.

Right on the button
Thanks for selling me on the Packers, Billy. The Super Bowl championship winning team.

AFC West
KC - 10
SD - 8
DEN - 8
OAK - 4

Yawn. Once again, I’m a bit surprised at my KC Bias. But I kinda sorta like them I’ve been suckered in. I don’t know enough about the other squads.


Biggest Mistake:

Thanks to injury the Broncos were worse than I thought they were going to be. I gave them far too much credit.

Right on the Button:

As the only person in my inner circle to show KC respect before the season.*Waits for applause to end* Thank you. You can’t beat young up and coming teams with depth at QB and a RB who runs for 6 yards per carry. Unless, of course, you’re the Baltimore Ravens.

AFC East
NYJ - 13
MIA - 9
NE - 7
BUF – 3

No shock, I hate the Pats and like the Jets. Miami has a hard schedule and the bills aren’t very good. I don’t have any faith in Sanchez but their defense is difficult to face. Miami still hasn’t given a truly exciting player. You need one on both sides. Ronnie Brown might be their offensive playmaker but who on their defense?


Biggest Mistake:

The Pats. But in my defense I’ll do it again and again and again. I’ll underrate them every single year that Bellichek coaches them. They’re my second least favorite team. The Miami pick might not have been a great idea either.

Right on the Button:

The Jets. The Bills.


AFC North

BAL - 13
CIN - 11
PIT - 7
CLE - 2

The Steeler bias is complete Big Ben related. The Brown loses is QB related. I think Cinci will be fun this year if Odom can stay healthy.. The Ravens could be a potential JUGGERNAUT.


Luckily for my memory I pretty much summarized my pre-season feelings pretty well. I thought the Steelers would start slow. They didn’t. I thought that Odom would stay healthy. He didn’t.

Right on the button

I thought the Browns would be bad. They were. I thought the Ravens would dominate teams on defense, and score enough to get wins. They did.

AFC South

TEN - 13
IND - 12
HOU - 9
JAC - 3

I gotta admit I was surprised by the Titan Bias. But they are a fun madden team with cj2k and vince young. Indy will always be indy. Houston is Houston. Jacksonville is not very good.

My poorly based picks might explain my poor results

Biggest Mistake: The entire division.

The Titans are only a madden team. The Colts were still the dominant force. The Texans shouldn’t be rooted for to go over .500. The Jags aren’t that bad.

Self Acccountability

This week I'll be posting

1. Reasons why the Mavs winning was a good thing for the NBA
2. Reasons why the Mavs winning was a bad thing for the NBA
3. More Achievement updates (provided my internet works again)
4. Colorado stuff
5. NFL recap. I'm in complete denial about the fact that the lockout could last.

This month I'll be posting

1. Much shorter NBA Recap. I care.
2. E3 rant.
3. More detailed stuff about the Achievements I'm trying to obtain.

I dedicate this one to my girlfriend

So it's summer time again and now I'm not encumbered by internships or school. Of course this means more gaming time. This post is going to have a lot of achievement talk and other similar stuff going on. Consider this to be fair warning.

A. Soul Calibur IV

I'm "this close" to getting a full 1000 in this game. All I have to do is transcend history and the world, which is a great name for an achievement where you have to buy every item in the game. I'm a million dollars short and the I'm gaining money a couple of thousand at a time. This could be a while.

B. Halo Reach

Not much going on here. I'm a bit upset that I haven't beaten the game on legendary yet though.

C. NBA 2K11

200 wins is possible right? It's not for an acheivement, but just because And the association achievements

D. Music Games

Time to get the band back together again. You know who you are.
Lots of small achievements to get.

E. Marvel v. Capcom stuff. Because I need it.

F. Madden 11 and 12

Yesterday I was reminded that I've gotten lazy as far as being "in the lab" with games. I used to really work at getting better at games. Now not

Courtesy of the block 4 point play

"I'm conquering anybody with a lack of confidence"


A. Mea Culpa

Usually I'd post about real basketball. The Mavs heat series is midway through. People seem to fall into 2 camps Lebron fans and Lebron haters. Usually with no rationality in between. I was planning on writing a pro-Lebron post, but J.A. Adande did it better already this week. And, of course, in game 4 he scored 8 points in a crucial game. My prediction. He drops over 25 tonight and a near triple double. 93-78 final score

B. Semi real basketball

This week, I played basketball for the first time in a while. I'm out of shape though. It's one thing to be unathletic, but I was seriously winded. On the other hand there's one shot I've been hitting since 7th grade and apparently I'm still the same way now.

C. Virtual basketball.

So in my crew my team won its 100th game this week. So far, so good.

D. Distractions

http://goo.gl/doodle/1pzf

I've been having way too much fun with this site.

Legends

1. Shaq retires.

I'm glad to see him go. I'm going to live the rest of my life not remembering his stints in a Suns, Cavs, or Celtics uniform. I'm going to remember him as an incomparably strong and big center. Just in case his legacy is forgotten beacuse of his age lets remember that shaq is
a) 8th all time in blocked shots
b) 1st in fg percentage
c) 7th in points scored

2. Kareem's response to Pippen's statement about Jordan being the best scorer ever.

Kareem gets no love. I think it was funny that the leading scorer of all time is completely forgotton in the realm of scoring. He did win tons of MVP's in his lifetime. He has scored more points than anyone else wearing an NBA uniform. He was in every all-star game from 1970-1989. He has 6 regular season MVP's to go with 6 championships. Oh and he had a shot that analysts describe as unblockable. Even though Kareem was unwilling to nominate himself I'll take that.

Kareem's skyhook: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPcniUfKRlU