Dot Runnings

The Day Americans Came Together to Emphatically Avoid Another F@ck Up...

2008-11-05T03:09:00.005-05:00

It's finally over. And with it, ends the constant media prattle that campaigning season brings. No more over simplified characterizations of political figures, continuous non-committal statements, slanderous inferential statements and half truths, bizarro celebrity endorsements, random chanting and blatant, partisan opinion. An executive decision was made in American politics and, for the first time in a decade, it was as correct as it was resounding.
By winning in a landslide, this election was the final expression of an anti-Bush sentiment held so firmly and deeply by a tired and battered nation. Obama's only opposition proved to be the evangelical, creationist, gun-toting, xenophobic Southern base that the Republicans have used as their political jump-off. A group, that much to their own horror, has become the abject minority.
Clearly any sort of good will the political right had wrangled since Bush's first term had completely evaporated, and it would be naive to think that Republican strategists were not aware of this. Not only did they pull Romney out, their most attractive potential candidate, but by allowing McCain to carry the flag, they inserted someone they had already previously busted down. It was all but an admission of defeat.
While many consider Pallin merely a political prop that was used as a supposed game-changer, consider that she may have been one of the few politicians the GOP was willing to sign off on, as they protected their superior options for a more competitive run. The fact that McCain would choose a running mate that secured his base says all you have to know about his campaign anyways...
The media did a good job of masking the inevitable, riding the "it ain't over till it's over card" and willfully ignoring all the signs of the record voter turn-out that came into fruition. This doesn't change the fact that Obama is an inspiring and telegenetic intellect with obvious leadership qualities and a political view necessary to tackle the turbulent state of affairs the U.S. finds itself embroiled in. This race did illustrate how many Americans were willing to ignore what was right in front of them, mostly due to their own personal hang-ups...
More than anything else, this is a chance for Americans to feel good about themselves. Sure, 20% or so of those polled claim to be literally 'afraid' of an Obama presidency. There's no solving that hate, they have their own issues to deal with. Ultimately, they will be dragged, kicking and screaming, into a better America. Mostly because there is literally nowhere to go but up: the U.S. international reputation, in particular, finally has a chance to be upgraded if not restored for the most part, which is a groundbreaking notion in itself.
But for now, this is a time to take a step back and feel a little better about things. The right decision was made, one that will affect us all. And when you look at it that way, it really does feel good.

The Eastern Conference Preview: A Bunch of Predictions

2008-10-31T11:24:00.003-04:00

Its the Raps home opener tonight and I thought I'd throw together some thoughts on the rest of the Conference, that was totally rewritten after the stirring opening season win at Philly. Ok, not at all, so here's a look at how we at Dotrunnings think it will happen.

Team Most Likely to Repeat as Conference Champs: Boston. Yes, I decided to start this off with some jokes for your humour. Boston will get it done again this year again, but not in that dominant, 4^th round-KO fashion they did last year. This year, they will beat your favourite team more by squeezing out submissions via 4th quarter execution. This team has got a couple of seasons left in them as the regular season conference bully.

Team Most Likely to Benefit from a Long Regular Season: Detroit. The consistent regular season aptitude of the Pistons has kept them from doing what they really had to do until this season: get a new coach. Michael Curry will happily ride the ‘player’s coach’ title, but it would be his willingness to develop younger players other than Rodney Stuckey (namely Amir Johnson) that could pay huge dividends for Detroit. If they learn to drop that low percentage perimeter-dependent offense that regularly starts failing them by about the Conference Semi-Finals, they may have a more than decent chance at representing the East in the NBA Finals.

Team Most Likely to Suffer from a Long Regular Season: New York. That ticking noise is Marbury and Curry sitting on the bench. The ship really starts to sink when Jamal Crawford goes through an inconsistent patch and Chris Duhon’s play makes everyone realize he is not an NBA caliber starting point guard.

Team That Can’t Get Their Roster Right No Matter How They Try: Cleveland. In recent years, San Antonio has pounded home the concept that it takes three elite offensive players who can create their own offense to make an NBA champion. By adding star power and instantly becoming championship material, both Boston and L.A. have further added to this notion. Even the Phoenix almost-dynasty never materialized because of the conspicuous disappearance of a third wheel in crunch time (whether it be Marion or Barbosa). GM Danny Ferry has tried his darndest to overhaul the roster and this year the best he could come up with was Mo Williams. I’m not saying the idea of playing Lebron in a seven game series in not an extremely worrisome prospect for any team in the East. But I am saying the Cavs will never win a championship unless they find a way to bring some legitimate All-Star help for Lebron. Runner-up: Knicks. They need to stop thinking about it, and actually cut the dead weight. If anybody else can make Marbury work, that’s more power to them.

Team Least Likely to Reach Expectation for Wins in Regular Season: Philly. How many people are sipping the 76er cool aid coming into this season. It’s ridiculous. Sure, they were one of the few teams that legitimately and aggressively addressed an ongoing concern with their roster by signing Elton Brand (that’s like a double-Bull diss). But it will take some time for him to adjust to the team and vice-versa, which will cost them some early wins. After all, recent Philly teams have never had a legitimate post presence and Brand is coming off a significant injury. And as a further regulator, this is an athletic team that excels at breaking teams down in isolations. But they do not pass well as a team, and they shoot terribly. I’m not saying they can’t improve, but 50 wins and reaching the Conference Semis for a team that can’t shoot? Really?

Most Over-Rated Team in the Conference: Orlando. It would be easy to bring up their unsettled back-court situation (losing Dooling actually hurt and that’s says enough) and question Jameer Nelson’s ability to lead the team to an elite status. But Orlando will never be able to match-up with the championship contenders playing without a true power forward. Some may have you believe the Magic were successful playing out a 1-4 and benefiting from the awkward match-ups that resulted from having Hedo and Rashard on the court together. But even with Dwight Howard’s physical overwhelming presence, the team remains way too soft. Plus, having two small forwards as your roster’s best skill players is closer to a conflict of interest than just merely a non-ideal situation. You might see an upgrade if they let Hedo play out the Euro-bounce threat, and let Lewis slide back to SF, so they can focus on finding a better front court compliment for Howard.

Most Under-Rated Team in Conference: Atlanta. This is a team that had a mid-season addition at point guard, and still stretched out the eventual champions to 7 games in the first round of the Playoffs. They have a nice starting five and the overwhelming majority of their core players are exceedingly young and have a huge upside. Sure, they lost a glue player/6^th man in Josh Childress, further depleting an already thin bench. All this ill vibe is probably more of a function of Mike Woodson as part of an unsettling coaching dynamic. But if Bibby can become a leader for this team and the young bench players step up, this team could sneak past the Magic and take the Southeast division.

Playoff Contending Team Spinning its Tires: Washington. They are an eccentric group that has grown apart from all the injury time lost to its core players. It’s hard to progress forward when you don’t know which group of players on your roster play best together. And they will need to adjust again when Gilbert gets back. But in the end, they really need to learn how to play some sort of defense if they expect to actually win a Playoff series.

Fringe Team Spinning Its Tires: Milwaukee: The big roster shake up resulted in Richard Jefferson becoming the team’s number two option. It didn’t work in New Jersey and they actually had a point guard. Runner Up: Charlotte. And it couldn’t happen to a better guy than Larry Brown. Mid season fire sale could really help someone else.

Team That Could Make the Playoffs But Shouldn’t: Chicago: Unbelievable how they can go all these years and still not acquire some sort of offensively-unchallenged post player. Derrick Rose hype will mask the desperate need to thin the backcourt out sooner than later. Runner Up: Miami. The Heat need to get something for Marion. Meaning they need better players and they don’t need Shawn Marion.

Team That Needs Players to Step Up to be a Conference Contender: Toronto. Even the anti-Canadian media forces out there (believe it!) will have to grudgingly admit (eventually) that the Raps new big three will be as strong as core as any three in the Conference (you think Ray-Ray is creating shots for himself now?). This team is handicapped by average athleticism, which plays itself out most noticeably in the lack of a slasher/scorer swing player that can put pressure on opposing teams’ defenses and provide some resistance as a defender. But since Toronto is capped out, the idea of adding a Gerald Wallace (you just know they’d take Bargs and Moon in a package) or even a Travis Outlaw (once he starts to complain about PT in Portland) may have to wait. But if Moon ever learns how to put the ball on the floor or Joey Graham ever gets a pulse, the damage could be minimized, especially if Kapono asserts himself. However, if Bargnani ever got his game together, that could potentially give the Raps one more advantageous match-up that could potentially put them over the top. Of the conference. This concept is so far fetched, it could be considered the perfect Raptor storm. Most folks outside of Toronto haven’t even considered the prospect of it. And there is a reason for this…how many ‘if’s’ did I just use?

Conference Semi-Finalists: Boston, Detroit, Cleveland, Toronto

Other Playoff Teams: Orlando, Atlanta, Philly, Washington

08-09 Raptor Scouting Report Part 2

2008-10-09T03:35:00.002-04:00

Now that we're on the cusp of the season opener, it's time that DotRunnings finishes looking at the rest of roster, meaning the bench. From the exhibition season alone, there appears to be much apprehension when it comes to this area, something that has not been experienced around these parts for the past couple of years. But with the breaking up of the former elite point guard tandem, the second unit has already shown signs of dropping off in efficiency. Here are the players that compose one of the Raps' biggest question marks going into the new season.

Andrea Bargnani - Is the other big question on the roster after JO's health. This could be the make or break year for the ex-number 1 pick, as his apparent regression last season has drawn much concern and attention. A Euro-style big in every sense of the stereotype: long, shooter-type with a good face up game and no desire to play near the basket, never mind with his back to it. Possesses superb range on jumper and has excellent agility for size, which was key to the source of optimism for his pro development. Utilizes a very good first step to pull up for long jumpers, often of an impressively high degree of difficulty which he will make with regularity when he's on. Unfortunately, his follow through footwork is exceedingly awkward, making his forays to the basket an adventure that occasionally reaches comedic levels. Main issue as an offensive player is that he has yet to figure out how to utilize his superior length to his advantage. At this stage, would prefer to be matched up against an opposing centre and work his agility from the perimeter for jumpers. The League managed to figure this out, and by year two, he was often being matched up against shorter, quicker defenders who could neutralize his perimeter game. Really, really, really needs to learn to work for shots closer to the basket; could be unstoppable against smaller defenders from mid range. For this reason, regardless of his future trajectory, Dirk will always be his ideal developmental blueprint. Not a defensive player by any means, and suffers from a lack of natural physicality. Has potential as a rebounder with superior length and footwork, but needs to be conscious of being active, often to the point of demonstrative coaxing by the coaching staff. He is too young to be given up on; Colangelo envisioned Bargs to be a nightmare match-up for opponents on the defensive end, as a versatile outside-inside threat. This is his baby. Would add a rare dimension to the squad, so the speed of his development will directly correlate to the ascendance of the Raptors to NBA elite status. On the flip side, Sam will feel an awful lot of pressure to ensure this project does develop, and anything less would directly effect his future on the bench.
Jason Kapono - Had an underwhelming, at best, regular season in his first year as a Raptor, but almost single-handedly justified his large extended contract in the Playoffs where he absolutely torched the Magic. Possibly the league's most consistent and dangerous three point threat, can be automatic regardless of the extent of defense. Struggled to finish in any other context until the Playoffs, where he pulled out an array of floaters and mid range shots that made him virtually unguardable. Was even able to use his body to get to the rim, finishing at an excellent clip and consistently drawing foul-worthy contact (mostly uncalled) against Dwight Howard. Average athlete at best, and offers very little on the defensive end; has been known to enable his opponent into career nights such as the case was last year with noted offensive force Desmond Mason. Undeniably savvy player, who has learned to mostly hide deficiencies; a high caliber role player.
Joey Graham - self proclaimed "most versatile player in the NBA." And still managed to pass League enforced drug testing. A strong, athletic small forward who potentially could solve a crying positional need for the Raptors. Shockingly unproductive thus far in his career: has yet to figure out the game on the NBA level, and spends much of his playing time doing little of note. Team athleticism appears to be a lurking problem, and Joey's ability to assert himself would do wonders. For every put-back dunk, there's a needless turnover or missed defensive assignment, but, sadly, taking the bad is almost preferred to his typical on court disappearing act. Had his best pre-season with the team ever, leading the Raptor kids in the Vegas summer league and following that up with a somewhat consistent, although injury-plagued, exhibition season. A card-carrying member of Sam's dog house, his erratic playing time virtually guarantees the vicious cycle. Something has got to give here; the opportunity is there but any optimism begs disappointment. Is this the year Joey shows he has a pulse?
Willie Solomon - Mike James-lite. Contrary to local press reports, sat out end of exhibition season because of nagging minor injuries, not a benching from his tailed off performances. Ex-ACC star has plied his trade overseas and built a little rep despite his minimal NBA experience. Strong and quick, has an offensive game that is heavily reliant on a mid-range to deep pull-up, hence the aforementioned comparison. Getting mixed signals from bench; struggled when prodded to be a distributor, had his best pre-season moments when he looked for his own shot. Judging by his statements to the press, Sam would prefer Willie repeatedly look for his shot on the second unit in the ol' high screen-while-everyone-else-stands-around set. And they wonder why the bench has looked broke so far...His defense alone should give him the edge as the back-up point, but looks destined to struggle overall for stretches. Has potential and maturity to adjust quickly to the NBA, but how the coaching staff handles him will figure prominently in his success or lack of it.
Roko Ukic - long, wiry European import that is clearly not ready for the NBA yet. Has skill and a decent motor but is turnover prone and desperately needs time to adjust to the differences in the North American game. Is tall enough to play both backcourt spots, but his defense and lack of a consistent outside shot are two strikes against his seeing any significant playing time. Potential is there, and he should be developed as a lead guard; on that end, could be paired up with Solomon for (very) brief spells.
Kris Humphries - somewhat paradoxical: a banger type player that considers himself a skillful offensive threat, something that has become a bit of an inside joke with the local media. Despite this, his biggest problem is that he is far closer to 6'7'' than his listed 6'9''. Still, brings an element of toughness that was sorely lacking last season. Unable to consistently match-up against a starting caliber NBA player, but can be very effective against back-ups. Energy guy who is black hole-ish and turnover prone; will always look to score when he gets the ball. Has started to develop a mid-range shot, but is clearly at his best when attacking the rim. Gets credit for activity but under-length can hurt him, especially on defense where he often guards players who have several inches on him. Another player that suffers from Sam's rotation, not uncommon to see starter-like minutes in one game only to never leave the bench in the next. Locked in as team's 4th big.
Hassan Adams - already maligned in the press, who consider this shooting guard a small forward because of his very modest shooting range. Former Arizona Wildcat and New Jersey Net who got caught up in a numbers game playing behind VC, RJ, Snack Bar and Antoine Wright, and promptly left for Europe because of it. Brings value in that he is extremely athletic and would greatly benefit from open court opportunities derived from a Lackers-style up tempo second unit. Although many will scoff, could surprise the haters if given a chance. But with Sam's history of handling reserves, destined to see many DNPs this year. Comes into the season with a bruised shoulder.
Nathan Jawai - Australian with a heart issue. Came in as a prospect with considerable size and athleticism, has sat out most of the exhibition season once diagnosis of his condition was made. Extremely raw, makes sushi seem cooked, but possesses a discernible upside. There were some high hopes upon his acquisition that he could be a realistic upgrade to Humphries in the size and toughness areas. Considering his inexperience and unsettled health issues, it would be difficult to imagine him as anything more than a practice player at this stage.

How the second unit gels is dependent of how the coaching staff handles things now more than ever, since there's no relying on an NBA starting caliber point to bail things out. So I would be remiss if I did not mention a little something about the man in charge:
Coach Sam Mitchell - ex-NBA tough guy/role player that gained a rep as a locker room leader during playing career. Helped KG work out his early career kinks becoming a mentor during his run with the T-Wolves. Became a fixture on the head coaching scene with the Raps. Has a vitriolic relationship with the local media, constantly challenging their knowledge with the obvious disdain coming from the presence of one to many transplanted hockey writers. Suffered during his first years as Raptor coach, mostly because it occurred during the deteriorating VC period, whose fragility mixed with Sam's tough, no-nonsense approach like vodka and milk. Low points included allegedly being body slammed by Vince during a physical confrontation and being voted the worst coach in the NBA by an SI-sponsored player poll. Has enjoyed a mighty turn-around since; been credited with the development of roster mainstays, especially Bosh and is now generally considered to be very good at handling younger players. However, still has reputation of not being the strongest bench coach and lacking in the strategic acumen of even the more mediocre NBA coaches. Often a vocal complainer of player performance to media, has gradually backed off over time, and is slightly more measured with comments. Even novice fans have questioned his handling of the player rotation, and his inability to plug in a consistently effective starting small forward has turned the position into a roster eye sore. Colangelo has been known to look over his shoulder and give input which he expects to be applied. Finally has a roster talented enough to legitimately compete; with Bosh's extension lying in the balance, any future regressions (the big land mine being Bargnani's development) will most certainly lead to the removal of his dogged presence from the coach's box. Playoff success will go far in proving his worth or lack of.

Back Again - ' 08-09 The Raptor Scouting Report, Part 1

2008-10-08T11:31:00.013-04:00

So it’s been a hot second since the last post. Summer's gone. And several political debates and some Kanye vocoder-isms later, the NBA season has finally come back around. So to mark the beginning of the exhibition season which was punctuated by the absolutely meaningless stomping of the Cavs in Cleveland last night, DotRunnings will present its yearly look at the Raps roster. Part 1 begins with the projected starters:

Chris Bosh – undisputed leader and team MVP. Perennial All-Star. One of the NBA’s elite bigs, and proved it as the best front court option on the gold medal-winning USA squad from Beijing, outplaying the far sexier and more heralded man-beast Dwight Howard. Did so by using an incredible skill set for his length. Will always lack overall size, and can still get pushed around by girthier opponents. However, now has wherewithal to get even using superb speed and quickness. Outstanding perimeter defender for a player his length. Money from 20 feet and in, and has extended jump shot to three point range. Can be a spectacular finisher around the basket, so teams still try and push him out of the box and take their chances with his jumper; consequently, can become over reliant on his perimeter game and will abandon the key for extended periods on offense. Excellent ball-handler for size with a great first step, much more concise with the ball, but still tends to go left. Expanded his game every year since rookie season, and his playoff performance versus Magic was a marketed improvement over previous post season efforts. Playing with a healthy JO should help in every facet of his on court game and alleviate the previously forced need for Bosh to match up with an opponent’s centre for extended periods. Projects intelligence and maturity, eschewing the more conventional ghetto posturing for marketing purposes and, thus, an ideal fit for Toronto. Become a chronic purveyor of YouTube comedy, and possesses a dry wit to go with a genuine telegenetic quality. Despite all of this, has a surprising number of detractors, which appears, at times, to include some refs; quizzically been rated by national magazine below directly comparable contemporaries such as Carlos Boozer. An extended playoff run is the only thing standing in the way of an absolute and universal respect.

Jermaine O’Neal - the newest prized piece in a decidedly necessary restructuring of the Raptor’s roster. Theoretically addresses several important Raptor needs, such as rebounding and interior defensive play. An All-Star caliber player when healthy, any question surrounding his play will revolve around his physical conditioning; conflicting reports have already surfaced out of the local press. Injuries have taken a toll in his previous two seasons in Indiana, limiting his court time and the effectiveness of his limited play. When healthy is known to be a dominant interior presence, as an excellent rebounder and shot blocker. Very good one-on-one ability, clever in the post and possesses decent range, but tends to fall in love with mid-range jump shot and extended turn-around jumper. Would significantly improve the team’s ability to finish strong around the rim, another distinct sore spot for the Raps. Could be lethal in a high-low set with Bosh and on the pick and roll with Calderon. Jumped to straight to the League from high school, sat on the Trailblazer bench for a couple of seasons before emerging as a perennial All-Star. Traded to Indiana where he played an infamous role in the Rumble at the Palace dropping a fan with an overhand right while slipping that resembled something out of Rocky flick. Becomes the highest paid player on the squad by a significant amount for the next two seasons; a calculated risk for Colangelo as JO’s contract expires exactly when Bosh will be expecting his re-up. Expectations vacillate wildly here, but something resembling seasonal averages of 16-18ppg, 9-11 rpg, 1-2 bpg will put the Raps in the top 3 in the Conference and give Toronto the most feared 1-2 front court combination in the League.

Jose Calderon – the Spanish straw that stirs the Raptor’s mix. ‘Ocho’s’ play last season single-handedly made T.J. Ford expendable and vaulted his name into All-Star consideration. Demonstrated a phenomenal ability to keep turnovers to a minimum, finishing the season generously outdistancing the rest of the League as the leader in assists-turnover ratio. After taking over for an injured Ford, became a double-double machine while shooting a spectacular percentage from the field for a lead guard. Consistency with pull up jumper from 20 feet in makes him incredibly difficult to guard and, at times, became the Raptors most effective option in the half court. Has extended range to 3 point line and can no longer be left open behind the arc. Absolutely lethal when he starts getting to the basket and finishing. Once inside free throw line, will completely abandon pull up. Good size for a point guard and possesses above average athleticism to go with it. Has steadily improved not only his outside shooting but his frequency of getting to the rim and ability to finish with both hands. Already shown tendency to be a big game player, saving his best performance of last season for a dramatic win at Boston, single-handedly giving Celtic defenders fits. Ultimately, an excellent distributor who will keep the ball moving as a traditionally-inclined playmaking point. Still shaky defensively against the League’s quicker point guards, but overall, has improved markedly on the defensive end since his rookie season. Will benefit greatly from having a healthy JO as a teammate on both ends and could be automatic running the pick and roll with him. Readily pushes the ball, but has critics who point out his tendency to pull up a fast break and avoid taking chances to create opportunity. While deriding his lack of flash, what those critics fail to realize is how efficiently Calderon is able to make Coach Mitchell’s one-set offense work, a deceptively challenging task in itself. Destined to take on heavy minutes this season, as the back-ups are primarily untested.

Anthony Parker - Steady A.P. has been a good investment for Raps at shooting guard since being brought over leaving behind his League MVP status in Europe. Solid player with above average but not superior athleticism. Fundamental part of the perimeter-oriented personality of the team, possesses three-point range that can run hot or cold as a spot-up shooter. Excellent catch-and-shoot player, would benefit from having more plays run for him, but is more often than not relegated to predictably fending for himself in the Raps one-dimensional offensive schemes. Has the ability to create off the dribble, and can be very effective going to the rim when catching the opposition’s defense off guard. Added dimension of being one the Raptors' better finishers in the open court. Realistically, not a primary offensive option, as against the League’s better defenders, he tends to get stuck taking long, very difficult fade-away jumpers. To his credit, Parker will make a surprising number of them. Very solid fundamentally-based defensive player who is consistently effective against all but the NBA’s elite offensive players; still good for a couple of opportunistic steals and the occasional block. Great role player and solid contributor heading into a contract year.

Jamario Moon - captured the imagination of the Raptor faithful by going from an undrafted, mature CBA All-Star to a part-time starter and all-around energy guy. An absolute athletic freak, immediately stood out on a roster that was generally very average in this area. Able to generally flourish as Sam showed uncommon patience in his development. Positives clearly out-weighed the negatives; at times appeared to be the only Raptor other than Bosh that could consistently finish above the rim. A solid rebounder that is good for an oop a game, his tendency to provide above the rim highlight caliber plays made him an instant fan favourite. Very good defensive player with potential to become a legitimate stopper as he is surprisingly effective on the ball; long arms, quickness and leaping ability make it difficult for opponents to get around him or back him down in the post in spite of their apparent advantage in strength. An equally effective off the ball defender, Moon can provide imposing weak side help. Despite all the fanfare of his rookie season, it is clear he is still getting comfortable on the court and it showed most conspicuously on the offensive end, specifically in the half court where he often appeared lost while aimlessly floating around the perimeter. Due to quickness and leaping ability, opponents backed off and crowded driving lanes, forcing Moon to prove he could consistently make open jumpers, which was something that never truly happened. Unfortunately for Raps, also developed the habit of never looking to drive, often to the dismay and public derision of Mitchell. He is, however, excellent in the open court and no one would benefit more from Raptors getting into transition at a greater rate. It is absolutely essential he force defenses to guard him honestly; to do this, he must improve his jumper and his ball-handling to potentially fill Raptors’ single greatest need as the auxiliary scorer/slasher that punishes teams who sag on Bosh and, now, JO. Has all the tools to shore up the Raps weakest starting position, and would make Toronto a legitimate championship threat if he were ever put it all together. But that's an incredibly, almost unreasonably, large 'if', as his skill set needs to catch up with the other elements of his game. So right now, it would only be fair to consider Moon an energy guy whose still learning, with a current upside that considerably outweighs the liability. Contract year also looms large in the background.

Perceiving Greatness in the 21st Century: An Exercise in Self-Promotion

2008-03-31T03:24:00.005-04:00

Currying the favour of the masses has always been a strategic undertaking; balancing the necessary crowing of one’s achievements which today’s for public serves as almost an educating process without falling to the dismissive perils of over-exposure can be arduous at best. Sometimes, depending on the level of interest/scrutiny, one may even be held accountable to their boasts, but it seems only the least savvy of public figures get caught in an out right, un-spinnable lie. Nobody said ascendancy via self-promotion was easy.
And so follows the mantra within the music biz, which adheres to the same anti-meritocracy blueprint of its sister entertainment industries (with the same lack of accountability to its portrayal of topical truth for the sake of entertainment, itself). In particular, rap music’s current dependence on image has less and less to do with being fly and more to do with the generation of currency: there is now a generally accepted ethic within the industry and for its observers that one's worth as a rapper is directly correlated with the ability to capture the widest possible market share and thus accumulate the greatest amount of revenue for a given project. Even at the height of the Bad Boy Era, this was still a concept limited to subtext, not necessarily flaunted within the material. But now, the idea of selling out is a virtually impossible notion, as branding and cross-promotion are shunned by only the most subterranean of artists.

The ‘rapper’ who has benefited the most from this New World Order is one, who ironically enough, is somewhat struggling to hold the attention of the same masses responsible for co-signing the rise to his now tenuously seminal position. Jay-Z, the original business…man, is back on the scene in 2008, much to the chagrin, one would expect, of the majority Def Jam talent. Recently, he decided to bless the genre of dancehall by hopping on a remixed version of Movado’s contribution to the Mission Riddim. Funnily enough, while describing his beef with those that object to his position at the top of the industry over what was previously a conscious track, he removes any doubt of the validity of his words by having the track wheeled back in the studio and re-reciting his previously spit verse. Because why wait for crowd approval, when you can manipulate it directly yourself?

The look of a man who doesn’t need a DJ’s help.

Just last week, a Timbaland produced track called ‘Ain’t I’ was leaked, sounding possibly like something that should have been on the Blueprint 2 album ( I guess 250 don’t go as far as it used to…). I suppose fans will respond to this, if for nothing else, to embrace Jay’s flow but the true intention of putting a single like this out is to keep an adoring fan base engaged, in light of its slight deterioration since the unretirement. But it’s in times of uncertainty that loyalty must be tested, and Shawn is not only direct about questioning allegiance, he makes a chorus out of it.

Movado feat. Jay-Z – On the Rock Remix

Jay-Z feat. Timbaland – Ain’t I

Meanwhile, Andre Benjamin has joined his partner in rhyme, Big Boi in similarly releasing buzz singles for public consumption. While Three Stack’s future as a rapper was considered tenuous at best after the Love Below, Andre has come back with some strong lyrical cameos last year, cumulating on an Outkast reunion of sorts for the Art of Storytelling Part 4. Amazingly, an already introspective lyricist demonstrates more focus than ever by matter of factly breaking down his larger personal perspective within the context of everyday circumstance. There is no room for pandering or campaigning to the listener; the dopeness of the content is left for independent affirmation.
Perhaps more ambitious was 3000’s verse on the recently dropped Royal Flush, an alleged single off the soon to be released Big Boi solo project, featuring Raekwon the Chef. Over a bumping track and Isley sample, Andre follows Rae’s lawless musings with what amounts to an open discourse in the sociological functioning within urban communities existing in poverty. What is probably most striking of his time on the mic was the description of the generic crabs-in-a-barrel impulse of demonstrating resentment towards the achievement of others mired in similar surroundings. Specifically, how it didn’t degenerate into cries of ‘stop hating’ massaged by the enviable flaunting of material gain and marginalizing of others’ lack of acquisition. Needless to say, as it has been mentioned by others, but this sort of moment in hip hop can be considered nothing less than atypical.

Outkast feat. Marsha Ambrosius – The Art of Story Telling Part 4

Big Boi feat. Andre 3000 and Raekwon – Royal Flush

The audacity of dope: being it without mentioning the trap.

Comparing Andre’s recent work in light of the standard barer, S Dot, and considering the equivalent time both have spent as an artists with the relatable amounts of critical and public fanfare each have enjoyed, the topical disparity is somewhat surprising. When viewed in terms of the accepted industry norm, 3000 output is nothing short of remarkable, as it indicates an artist neither motivated by nor necessarily appealing to more desirable consumer demographics. Hardly the description of someone with elite status in the rap game. But then again, maybe it’s not that hard to imagine a throwback embraced as top dog: if for no other reason, it’s because there’s always the hope for better.

It’s a Problem When Jose Calderon is your Best Option…to Coach.

2008-03-28T15:18:00.009-04:00

I’ll say preface my return from hiatus with this statement: if the Raps lose to the Knicks tonight, Sam should immediately resign following the game, taking his sparkly, S-Curl enabled locks with him; with just the memory of a glittery head attached to a lanky silhouette striding up and down the home coaching box at the ACC, barking only the vaguest of directions to his wayward players.

As the Toronto media jumps on the latest dramatic Raptor storyline of the day, fueling the fire for the T.J. versus Jose non-feud feud, a fundamental point seems to be missed amongst the portrayal of ‘Spanish Jose’ as the paradigm of selflessness and team sacrifice: isn’t it the coach’s job to tinker the line-up to induce the necessary on court chemistry? If these stories are true, why would Sam need prompting from a player to make basic rotation decisions?

Just two of the many faces of 'Ocho': the real brains behind the S-Curl?

Admittedly, I have been always critical of Sam’s tactical acumen and even his bench coaching hasn’t exactly drawn comparisons to the Popovichs and (COUGH) Jacksons of the world. But all the Mitchell apologists have held fast to the idea of Sam as a nurturer, a developer, someone who knows how to handle players and get the best out of them. ‘We have a young team’, they say, ‘we need a player’s coach.’

Unfortunately for us, Sam has been the benefactor of some smoke and mirrors coaching, doggedly employing a rudderless high-screen offense, avoiding avoiding the commitments of X's and O's. It just so happens that he’s left virtually all decision-making to a developing, shoot-first, penetration-oriented point buoyed with the option of handing the ball over to perhaps the best ball-handling, least turnover-prone guard in the League while surrounding them with some consummate pros such as ‘Jaundice’ Parker and (when healthy) Garbajosa to keep up the non-scripted ball movement. Sure, this could be a workable scenario, as proven in the past, but that leaves you as a slave to the natural ups and downs a roster will go through with regards to injuries, slumps, groupie-maintenance and whatnot. And really, if it’s the players who seem solely responsible for making this work, is a coach really maximizing said players’ potential. I mean, is this the only way to maximize Bosh’s skill set on the offensive end?

Sure, Sam’s offensive sets lack structure and derive very little in the sense of premeditated looks for players; it spelled the end of MoPete’s career in Toronto. But for all the on-the-fly decision making that a pick-and-roll dominated offense entails, what happens when a player goes rogue like T.J. on the Raps most recent, disastrous West Coast adventure? Is there any way to rein him in within the context of a play-less play book? Is sitting a player the default option when you cannot impose structure?

But this is where handling personnel comes in, Sam's alleged strength. Clearly, as Wednesday’s win against a Rip-less Detroit indicated, T.J. loses much of his effectiveness coming off the bench; his production as a sub is hit or miss at best. Jose is not limited in this way. So is it impossible for them to co-exist on a roster as many would suggest (financial constraints and T.J.'s rumoured temperamentality aside)? I feel it would not be too far-fetched to find a coach who could have the team thrive with two starting point guards on the roster, a concept that once made the Raps the envy of the League: to wit, while Sam has tried playing both guards at the same time, he refuses to instruct Calderon to be the primary ball-handler, allowing T.J. shot first mentality to take over as the shot clock winds down, the way the roster’s non-existent slashing small forward normally would. Instead, we have Jose waiting on the wings for T.J. to belatedly initiate the offense, virtually nullifying his ability as a distributor. In the end, this coexistence amounts to wasted minutes (and extended time for two guards on the court who are not exactly known as defensive stoppers).

While I am reticent to use the cliché of the imperative, a loss tonight against the Knicks would virtually guarantee the end game to the Raps' current free-falling ways; a 1^st round series match up against the 1^st or 2^nd seed, leading to a possible sweep and a demoralized team heading into an uncertain off season. Building off the sort of win that was exacted against Detroit will require leadership, and fingers seem to be always pointed, for better or for worse, at the players. It’s time for the man who occupies the coaching box to step up his game as well.

What Did Karma's Five Fingers Say to the Patriots' Face?

2008-02-04T14:16:00.000-05:00

No thanks to Tiki or Shockey. I guess karma is an equal-opportunity wrecker of lives...

The poetry that was David Tyree leaping over a land-locked Rodney Harrison aside, could such a monumental let down have happened to a more deserving person than Bill Belicheck? At least this is one way to keep Spygate on the back-burner.

An Idea Whose Time Has Come…?

2008-01-04T16:44:00.000-05:00

“They said this day would never come…”

So Obama took his first step towards a presidential nomination easily outdistancing his rivals in winning lily white Iowa’s inaugural caucus, something political experts would have deemed virtually impossible barely 8 weeks ago. And he gave what many considered to be a presidential caliber post-victory speech (although his brief anti-lobby diatribe probably tripled his chances of getting shot...), as the momentum for the Barack campaign steamrolls onto its next challenge in New Hampshire. Although it is far to early to extrapolate anything significantly defining the outcome of the race to become the Democratic nominee, not only is it clear Obama is the front-runner, but the Iowa voter turn-out demonstrated a trend towards a mass abandonment of Republican support. Needless to say, conservative political pundits are less smug than ever…

Back to the days of greener pastures...

In the current U.S. political climate, with the Bush administration leaving public morale at an all time low, charisma and vision could be seen as superfluous qualities in a leader whose job will be to dig the world’s defining superpower out of large holes on the international and domestic fronts. The Clinton campaign was running on a platform of experience and competence, using its primary resources (the re-banding of Bill’s political machine) to underline Hillary’s alleged suitability for the top job. But a funny thing happened on the way to relaying that message: the public starting growing cold to the idea of dynastic politics and the thought of another four years of establishment leadership, regardless of which realm of the political spectrum it comes from. The real problem with the Clinton campaign is that they come off as de facto Republicans, which is why the GOP is salivating at the prospect of facing a Hillary nomination in ’08. How Hillary runs her ship now may have as much to do with how the public responds to Obama’s idealistic message for change; as much as they may not want to vote for a black man, the Clintons may not give them a choice. One thing is certain, you can be sure that the Hillary’s people will not refrain from negative campaigning to achieve its ends: it will be interesting to see how the Republican playbook plays on the other side of the fence.
Speaking of Republican playbooks, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention my braising hope that the Gulliani’s strategy of ignoring smaller states backfires with complete totality. He represents the worst of all American politics; a corrupt lawyer/politician that attempts to run on the high moral ground. You would figure even the conservative voting segment of the American public would see through that level of transparency and blatant hypocrisy. You would think…

2007: The Year in Review Part 1

2007-12-31T19:11:00.000-05:00

A bunch of lists that document the year that was, music-year, over here at Dot Runnings. Look out for Part 2 tomorrow. Have a great New Year's everyone...

Song They Shoulda Just Given the Original To: Chris Brown – Umbrella. Dancing Ass Beige jacked the beat for a remix, and turned it into Cinder-ella-ella-ella-eh, single-handedly creating another ‘official’ remix. It was more compelling pop fare than anything off his own album, and an upgrade to the original presentation.
Runner-up: Kanye – Throw Some D’s remix. Dude can be funny sometimes.

Dungeoned Dragon Award for the Best Performance on a Posse Cut: Ludacris – I’m So Hood Remix. With the rise of the ATL D-boys and his pursuit of the acting bug, Ludacris seems to have been lost in the rap shuffle lately and in danger of losing relevance altogether. So the timing was perfect for this verse on Khaled's remix which he promptly tore down, receiving universal praise for his effort. He really should have been on the original…
Runners-up: Andre 3000 – International Player’s Anthem. Three Stacks deserves recognition for bringing humanity to a song with that title if nothing else.
R Kelly – I’m A Flirt remix. He may be depraved and morally reprehensible, but he certainly didn’t need those other dudes, two pretty big artists in their own right, on this remix.
Phonte – Fan Mail and Joe Budden – Family Business/Family Reunion. Two up and coming lions with industry vendettas. Both go really hard.
Lupe Fiasco – Us Placers. Posse cut that folks either adore or abhor, Lupe very much outshines producer buddies Kanye and Pharrell with his abstract verse.

Best Rock/Rap Collabo: Maroon 5 feat. Mary J Blige and Wale – Wake Up Call Remix. With Fallout Boy and Gym Class Heroes leading the way, there was a highly visible genre co-mingling scene in 2007. However, this particular remix was a barnburner, and that’s taking into account the polarizing response Maroon 5 tends to elicit from listeners. Say what you want about Adam Levine, he’s a throwback musician; he’s clearly doing it to get laid. But Mary has always done her best work singing on the chords with black keys and promising newcomer Wale just tears it down.

Rapper That Just Shoulda Said No to the Collabo: For any Jay-Z professional or personal courtesy verse for an R&B singer. Homie, this is why you had to leave Def Jam.

Least Surprising Moment of 2007: Jay-Z vacating his presidency at Def Jam. So here’s the entertainment industry’s fundamental truism: your status is directly linked to your ability to earn. Artistry is the ultimate afterthought/default marketing plan, as being a player is directly correlated to whether you can consistently create/produce/direct or select profitable projects. Or at least give the impression you can. How many summers were you holding us down, Shawn? Perception is everything.
The key to longevity at the top is to keep from being exposed. Sure, the roster at Def Jam was restless, but nobody is gonna take former earners like LL seriously. And you could always point to Rihanna and Ne-Yo as artists you developed, hell, maybe you could even front strength and ask for a raise off of their success. But when your industry is struggling to catch up with the times, and it becomes clear that your real value to the company is as a brand, which is progressively slipping, what do you do? You keep it moving, to give you another shot at staying relevant, before they pin you down and you’re labeled as a fossil (like the aforementioned Cool James). Lesson done. And you still thought chess-playing Hov would swap checkers with y’all?

Best Marketing of 2007
1. Rihanna – Something like a phenomenon in 2007: someday, people learning marketing will study about her rise to the top. Considering she started off as a cutesy, teen, West Indian-based artist who bucked all conventional industry wisdom by performing non-soca/reggae material, she pushed the envelope even further this year, branching out into dance, pseudo house and even rock on her way to stringing together a successful series of singles in addition to possibly the pop song of the year. Image-wise, she not only became a sex symbol for grown men but avoided being dragged down into Cassie-esque pseudo-artist status by shaking off the rumours of being Jay-Z’s personal side piece. And as a piece-de-resistence, she shouted out white dudes in the press, cementing her already broadening fan base. Did I forget to mention she ushered in a style of haircut. Or that her subtle dalliance into breast augmentation had a role in prompting Ciara and Kelly Rowland to follow suit. It was such a successful year for Rihanna, she made everyone forget that she can’t really even sing: any pop idol’s biggest measure of success.
2. Fergie – The definition of industry creation. Meaning a mediocre (at best) talent that’s frequently paired up with cooler artists, provided trendy watered down production (cough…Clumsy…cough) and given a hip trendy image (somebody needs to dead her little ride-or-die Vato chick incarnation tho…seriously). Living proof of how talent and substance will always lose a popularity contest and begs the question: is a fraud still a fraud if she is embraced by the public?
3. Kanye vs. 50 – Two biggest selling hip-hop albums of the year, and it’s no surprise. As far as a gimmick goes, it was genius; David vs. Goliath in its least dramatic form, and an all out battle of good against evil in its most compelling. And to top it off, 50 didn’t even have to quit like he said he would.
4. Bow Wow – Still eating off the teenage and pre-pubescent crowd. And ran through Ciara. Now he’s combining forces with an artist with a greater career upside (although that’s a relative…sorry O) to prolong this pathetic dance. Yo Chad, turn 20 already.
5. Chris Brown – Admit it, you thought ‘Kiss, Kiss’ was pretty weak for a lead single when you first heard it. But they persisted and ‘Dancing Ass Beige’ looks to have a pretty bright future. But let’s make something clear, son is not a great dancer in the sense he will have his own dance like MJ and the 'Moonwalk'. He’s a ‘Volume Dancer’. You do anything enough and you’ll eventually get props…

Worst Marketing of 2007
1. Amerie – Victim of her own success, as the label wants every single to be ‘1 Thing’ or ‘Why Don’t We Fall in Love’. Admittedly, the singles have sucked, but having an album play out in Europe while refusing to work it in North America seems ass-backwards at best.
2. Kelly Rowland – Again, unable to spin the little press she got, and has the disadvantage of being stuck in B’s considerable shadow. Got a pity single with video, but that almost makes it worse since her album still hasn’t dropped. Solo career has become waiting for the Destiny reunion.
3. Any Rap Artist on Def Jam not named Kanye or Shawn Carter – Former hip hop haven became graveyard under Hov. 2007 was the year Jay-Z became the ‘Bone Collector’.
4. Mya – This is somebody who’s received considerable press for sleeping around in the industry, and you’re telling me her handlers have been unable to spin any of it? Will her ‘new’ album ever see the light of day? Does anyone care?
5. Joe- Did anyone even know he released an album this year? Talk about pocketing a marketing budget.

3 Females Artists who can really SANG that came out with new material you probably didn’t hear. Whether dude to lack of spins or bad single choices (I know you just got a divorce Jill, but damn), these ladies were the Anti-Fergies of 2007. Meaning, sadly, they all lost.
1. Chaka Khan
2. Angie Stone
3. Jill Scott

Female Vocalist that really can sing but has yet to put out some really listenable contemporary material and missed again in 2007: Joss Stone. She brought back Common Sensitive (sigh...he probably had Badu flashbacks in the studio when he laid down his verse) for her first single and even got a Lauryn Hill cameo for the album. Some people still liked this, but for someone with such pre-hyped talent, her 2007 long player was a really pedestrian effort. To make matters worse, she decided to come out the same year as fellow Brit and all-around ‘It-soulstress’ Amy Winehouse, who’s easily comparable retro style, made Stone practically irrelevant.

Best Worst Song. Possibly EVAR: R Kelly – Real Talk. Gurl, I wiiiiiiiiiiiiish you WOOOOOOOOULD.

3 Biggest Disappointments of 2007:
1. 50 Cent – How many singles did he put out to get a buzz before the album was released? And he still got both blue-eyed R&B pop wonders to be on the tracklist. Was there anyway he could make this more buyer friendly, aside from making good music? And we haven’t even mentioned the ridiculous Kanye showdown/marketing ploy. Son took a huge ‘L’ this year, officially signifying his career’s downward decent.
2. Wu-Tang Clan – Everyone except the RZA said the album sucks. Only the 2^nd most disappointing because of the predictability of it all.
3. T.I./Jay-Z – Last year was a huge year for T.I. and let’s be honest, ‘Big Things Poppin’ was the definition of underwhelming. And when a single with Wyclef is one of the bigger songs off your album, you know you made some sub par shit. Jay’s concept album/excuse-to-talk-breezy was just unnecessary. Sure the production was polished, but the Pharrell joints straight suck and does anybody really care about anything on the album other than Roc Boys and Success. What happened to all those summers, Hov?

3 Biggest Reasons to Look Forward to 2008. And who’s to say these will actually materialize. And, yup, didn’t bother wasting a spot on Detox.
1. Andre 3000 Album: Son killed verses this year. Prodigal rapper. If he does get around to an album in 2008, he’ll be sure to rhyme on this one.
2. Common/Q-Tip Album – 'The Standard'. Rumoured super group with the promise of lyrics to go. You get the feeling this offering promises to be a little, uh, eclectic, but if it means reviving Tip’s career, the risk will be worth it.
3. Nas Album – Regardless of the title. At least you know it’ll be better than American Gangster.

Potential Beefs for 2008
1. Def Jam Artists v. Whoever is the next president: The blame game continues. Those artists better hope to hell that Chuck D doesn’t take over because there will be no sympathy forthcoming from management if he’s in charge.
2. Dancin’ Ass Chris Brown v. Definitely Not Molested Omarion: I hate to say it, Icebox O, but my money’s on the Volume Dancer. Niche-carving is a bitch. The 90’s is dead, so you gotta bet on beige.
3. Ne-Yo, John Legend and Alicia Keys v. the Closet: These are some of my favourite singers out, and I will continue to enjoy their music as long as it stays on point. Regardless of personal life choices…
4. Lil’ Wayne v. Writer’s Block: How much more material can this guy come out without actually dropping an album? This is supposed to be the year of the next Carter installment.
5. Ashanti, Ciara, Cassie, Rihanna, J. Lo et. al v. saturated market: In case folks haven’t heard, people aren’t exactly buying music anymore. Some of you are cuter than the others, some dance better than the others but the bottom line is, none of you are exactly singers. Good luck with that.

A Good Dose of Stevie Is Never Enough…

2007-11-13T16:28:00.000-05:00

Still basking in the glow of last night’s Stevie Wonder concert at the ACC (even repeated listens to the DJ Khaled 'I’m So Hood' remix couldn’t get me down…) – it’s hard to do justice with words on how good the man sounds live. That being said, what superlatives can you really use when seeing one of the seminal soul/pop musician-artists of all time that wouldn’t echo with redundancy? So we’ll address what is no doubt the biggest challenge for an artist of this longevity and magnitude in giving a live performance: deciding on a set list.

Stevie with a different type of quandary...

Here are the Dot Runnings' Top 17 Stevie Wonder songs that didn’t get performed at his Toronto concert

15. Never Dreamed You’d Leave in Summer - melancholy Stevie was pretty-much absent for the night, but realistically this would have never made a set list. Great Common (even without the Sense) sample tho…

14. Gotta Have You – Being a real 80’s baby (not not looking at you S Dot.), this was a personal favourite from the Jungle Fever soundtrack during the formative years (Ok, technically Spike had Wesley Snipes slobbering over the Italian broad to make social commentary in '91). A bad jam.

13. I Just Called To Say I Love You/ For Your Love – The concert was just over 2 hours long, and the feel good, pop ballad was better encapsulated by My Cherie Amour anyways, plus there was a bonus comedic antidote on the inspiration for that song.

12. Jungle Fever – Judging by the audience, it was an alternate theme for the night. Taking her to see Stevie wins. Big. Plus, something to hold over her when you’re back to the everyday routine of super-sizing…

11. Isn’t She Lovely – Understandably missing as his daughter and female backing vocalist was absent due to sickness.

10. I Believe (When I Fall In Love) – Coulda slipped this one in during the Overjoyed, Ribbon in the Sky, feel-good ballad portion of the play list.

9. Part Time Lover - less crude OPP anthem, implying fidelity not a question for a part time gig. Didn’t really fit the vibe of the concert…

8. I Don’t Know Why – A bad song. He could of really rocked this one out, kinda like…

7. I Was Made to Love Her – a perfect transition for Signed, Sealed, Delivered which was performed much to the delight of the crowd. An underrated aspect to the concert was Stevie’s ability to do the damn thing with the up tempo selections, and it showed last night especially during the combo of Livin’ for the City into Master Blaster (Jammin’).

6. All I Do/ That Girl – Big songs that would play well with his large backing band. On any given night, one or both of these songs would be on the play list.

5. You and I – Underrated torch song that rivals Overjoyed and Ribbon in the Sky. Stevie chose, instead, to have an extended interactive moment with the crowd during Ribbon in the Sky which was memorable in itself.

4. Rocket Love – The ultimate melancholy Stevie joint. Could do it big with the band or just by himself with the piano, it’s a truly dramatic song that normally finds its way onto the play list.

3. Another Star – I heard he finishes with this song sometimes; but I wouldn’t of changed a thing last night when he ended with As. Still, this joint is a barn-burner…

2. Hey Love – This song encapsulates everything that is Motown Stevie; i.e. Lil’ Stevie Wonder, the boy-king prodigy. Personally, I would have been throwing people off the balcony if he sang this…

1. Knocks Me Off My Feet – Really surprising omission considering how seminal and made for Stevie’s voice this song is. Plus, this song translates for a more contemporary generation: I feel Donell Jones still sneaks up on unsuspecting ears and gets fans with this.

For the record, this list was surprisingly tough to compose, as ten couldn’t do it and I still missed some personal favourites (Village Ghetto Land, Ordinary Pain…it don’t stop) and other big tunes. But really, think about it – what other (solo!!) artist could do a two hour and change concert, not sing 17 songs you really wanted or expected to hear and still have the experience burned in your mind as one of the best concerts you ever had the pleasure to witness…

Shout out to the K, who was hoping to hear Place in the Sun, but got a surprise, spontaneous country moment instead.

2007-08 NBA Western Conference Preview

2007-10-30T19:07:00.000-04:00

So tonight, the NBA officially begins with a trio of Western Conference clashes, Dotrunnings is going to go out on a limb and give you a fearless look into the future. Don’t be scared by what you are about to read, just embrace it as I take no responsibility for any extreme unforeseen incidences that may knock my predictions out of wack. Now get that money…
First, the bottom of the barrel:

Stuck in no man’s land

Clips – It’s just not happening without Elton, but the Livingston situation doesn’t help either. They seemed to have picked a winner in Al Thornton, who should get a lot of burn. A lower case Playoff team with Elton, the other L.A. team is looking hard at the lottery.

Kings – Bibby is out for the first couple of months of the season, and it might actually help the chemistry. Brad Miller apparently has taken the Olympic team disrespect to play the sort of ball that got him on the team to begin with and Kevin Martin is destined to show last season wasn’t a fluke. However, these are the only rays of sunshine, as it’s looking pretty bleak in Sactown. A Kobe lite situation is brewing here, as the Kings have to figure out what they are gonna do about Ron-Ron’s long term future.

Wolves – Apparently Al Jefferson will get a chance to have a break out season. This is an incredibly young team that has become even more unstable with point-in-training Randy Foye out for an extended period with a knee injury. Let the rebuilding begin!

Rebuilding upwards

Grizz – Memphis managed to hold off from making the Bulls the next NBA champions by keeping Gasol, and now appear to be on their way back to being relevant. Although all indications point to Conley Jr. being brought along slowly, expect Spanish import Juan Carlos Navarro to crack the rotation and then some. Mike Miller had a good summer, but best case scenario here is that Rudy Gay and Darko both prove they are legitimate NBA starters. Best thing about this team may be that Raptor’s dream coach Marc Iavaroni is in charge: may catch some teams off guard and steal some games out West with that up-tempo style.

Portland – I felt compelled to put these guys here, even though the rash of unbelievably bad luck with the injury bug has crippled this franchise for this year. So while they are on their way back to the lottery, Portland needs to assess several areas for next year, namely: who is their point guard of the future; is Martell Webster ever going to be an NBA starter and will LaMarcus Aldridge develop into the stud that certain folks swear he will become. Next year should be interesting…

Seattle – The team of a thousand swing players looks like they are gonna try the Durant shooting guard experiment. This could really backfire as KD may be the most heavily scouted rookie in the Lig in years and shooters to open up the floor will be at a premium. They will need some time, but while they are figuring it out, the Sonics need to know if they have an NBA centre on their roster and who is the most suitable point guard to lead them into the future.

Lower Case Playoff Teams

Denver – Some folks like these guys to be a real threat to the big three in the Conference and if they come in on a roll at the end of the season, they could be scary in the Playoffs. But in actuality, these guys are the Knicks of the Western Conference (comparisons to the Knicks = trouble) and for all the talent they have accumulated on the roster, it is belied by the fact that:
1. They play no defense, whatsoever
2. They have nobody who looks to distribute the ball to all that star power
3. George Karl and Isiah have more in common coaching-wise than any Nugget fan would care to admit.
Throw in some suspect character-players on the roster (is J.R. Smith actually related to DeShawn Stevenson?) and you have a recipe for a self-limiting 6^th seed. Should be interesting to see how Kenyon fits back in the mix tho.

Golden State – the anti-Spurs. Their up-tempo style constitutes an incredibly high-risk form of winning basketball: sure, they can beat anybody when they are firing on full cylinders, but can you expect to maintain that pace over a full playoff run, never mind a full season? Regardless, these guys should be a lot of fun to watch, with a lot of ups and downs for their fans. The loss of JRich shouldn’t hurt too much with this roster but to have any sort of shot at winning stability, they need Monta Ellis and Al Harrington to step up their productivity and cause some match-up problems. Look out for Kelenna Azubuike, who tore up the pre-season.

Lackers – The team I love to hate, and they are in some trouble. The years of in-house, in-family, upper management in-fighting have taken its toll, as the Purple and Gold have barely managed a significant roster up-grade in the past x-amount of seasons. And guess who is vexed. They really should blow up this team, but the fanbase won’t stand for it and Coach Fake-Buddhist Jax would exile himself at the notion of a true rebuilding project. So here the Lakers stand, thier best case scenario is on the cusp of a Playoff spot in the more competitive conference. And they don’t even have Smush on the roster to kick around/blame stuff for. Laker fans are hoping Fisher, rookie Javaris Crittenton and Chris Mihm (!?!) make a difference and Andrew Bynum becomes that dude at 21 (!!?): again, the up-side is limited here. However, if the Kobe trade talks start to heat up even more, you can be assured this season is a wrap.

Hornets – Looking hard at that last Playoff spot, and have a much more legitimate upside than the Lackers with a truly influential star point guard in Chris Paul and a brand new 2-3 combo with MoPete joining former injury-casualty Peja Stojakovic. These guys had serious trouble scoring last year and the roster revamping will address that. Sure, their primary low post threat in David West is a little shaky by Lig-standards and Tyson Chandler brings little offense to the centre position, but as a team, these guys rebound great. If they can stave off the injury bug, a .500 year could get them the 8^th seed.

Now we get to the teams that are built to go deep into the Playoffs, as their rosters are strong and well-rounded enough to get them through the regular season. But the Playoffs are a different world, and it was clear from watching the real NBA Finals, i.e. the Spurs-Suns series, that two things ultimately determine success in the post season:
The ability to engage your team in Playoff intensity defense.
Having three options that can create their own points regularly against Playoff intensity defense.
The Playoffs irreducibly become a world of half-court, slug-it-out, high intensity, match-up oreinted basketball and nobody reinforces this more than the defending Champs. Here’s a look at the two tier system of contenders in a conference whose winner should be the next title holder for the ’07-08 season.

2^nd Tier: A year or two away from seriously contending.

Houston – Things are really looking up for the Rockets as they have been one of the more active teams in the off-season in changing the look of the team. It all starts with coaching, as more so than what Rick Aledman brings to the table as the new bench boss, it was evident that the Van Gundy-era needed to be put to an end. So with the addition of Argentina’s best player during the summer’s Olympic qualifying, PF Luis Scola and the sudden potential re-emergence of Bonzi Wells, the Rockets are looking like a potential beast. Houston’s biggest concern, other than remaining healthy (i.e. T-Mac, Yao), is to sort out the over-stocked backcourt situation, as Steve Francis theoretically is a much better idea than Steve Francis practically. Look for Tracy to assume the point-forward gig with Mike James getting starter’s minutes to help spread the court, with Rafer being phased out as the season progresses. And 4^th seed is realistically there for the taking…

Utah – The Jazz had a nice-little run last year, as the cement themselves as the Raptors of the West being that: they have a promising PG situation going with a blossoming, productive PF who loves to face the basket and a centre who bombs from the outside but are in dire need of sorting out production from the middle of the line-up (namely the ‘2’) which is painfully lacking. Ronnie Brewer has stepped up in the pre-season to provide the sort of athletic, slashing presence that is making Jazz fans salivate. However, the most important issue with the roster is the ongoing Kirilenko-saga and how he fits in the offense; he seems to have backed off from the trade demands, but Sloan needs adjust his rigid sets to get more out of AK-47. If this team ever gets a dangerous third half-court threat, they could start knocking on the door of the big three…

1st Tier: One of these teams will win the title this year – it’s virtually a wrap.

San Antonio – Big, bad and boring defending champs. What more can you say about them. Far and away, the best coached team in the Lig, possessing a few dominate talents blended in with embracing role players. That being said, they got the kind of heady play and lucky bounces that great teams manufacture and are ultimately tough to replicate; the Spurs were a forearm shiver away from being 2^nd round causalities. Return the same battle-tested roster, with potential upgrades in SF Ime Udoka and Darius Washington at the backup PG spot. The only thing you can say is that they haven’t repeated. Yet.

Dallas – regular season juggernauts. Manage to f*ck up teams with that short line-up, seemingly at will. But everyone saw what that short line-up can do in an extended series against some bad match-ups. Dallas is hoping that Eddie Jones and Trenton Hassell shore up their bench, but what would really help is if Devin Harris has a break-through season and can managed to hit a jumper consistently. It’d be impossible to deny that this team is shook and Dirk is carrying a lot of weight on his back after MVPing a first round exit last year. Still, they should be a machine again during the regular season. Leading to an anxious Playoffs again…

Phoenix – after some Marion grumblings and an Amare knee scare during the pre-season, they've settled down and there’s a lot to like about this squad. Grant Hill has looked great and could be a formidable third option in the half court if Barbosa comes up firing blanks like in last year’s Spurs series. Because we know that for all Marion does for this team, he is not that guy to create his own points in the half-court. Amare has shown indications of having a monster season this year, but Boris Diaw really needs to step up his contributions to make the front court go, especially without Kurt Thomas there to provide the intangibles. D’Antoni absolutely has to manage this team to be healthy and not burnt out coming into the Playoffs, even if it means a few less regular season wins.

So who’s gonna make it through? There’s a lot of best case scenarios that could involve Houston, Utah and to a lesser extent Golden State and Denver making some serious noise but probability dictates it will always comes down to that quandary at the top: Phoenix has a team that can play the Spurs fairly even, but do not seem to match up well against Dallas, while the Mavs are traditionally hopeless when facing the prospect of the Spurs in an extended series. This hierarchy will probably be derailed come Playoff time, as Dallas will be the resident Conference shook ones, from their coach on down, facing serious child-star type anxiety in brighter spotlight.
What it will come down to is who will be able to elevate their game beyond the lowest common denominator style that rules in the grueling series grind that is the Western Conference Playoffs. And to this point, nobody has a higher base level of play than San Antonio, as their chemistry and ability to get the job done is nothing short of seminal. Someone will have to step up to take away their title.
This year, I believe it will be the Suns that take that next step. They have all the motivation in the world after last year’s David Stern-sponsored 2^nd round debacle of a series. Tim Duncan will always be an almost impossible match-up for Phoenix, so really, losing Kurt Thomas is more moot than people will have you believe with his defensive performance against TD being lionized for no particular reason other than being gutty: they will have to get over this. What really hurt the Suns the most in that Spurs series was that their half-court game became exclusively a Nash-Amare affair, and they were unable to manufacture points in any other way. Expecting Barbosa not to flame out this year and Diaw to step up would be hopeful yet not guaranteed notions; both still more reasonable prospects than expecting Marion to suddenly develop a one-on-one game that would effective against top flight defenses. As easy as it is to be skeptical about this move, picking up Grant Hill may the one that puts them over the top, providing a reliable scoring option as long as he is physically able for the Playoffs. It will be vital that the Suns bring that proverbial ‘chip-on-the-shoulder’ edge to their game, as their style over substance reputation may be exaggerated by the press, it is not entirely unfounded.
This may seem to be as good a year as any for the Spurs to finally repeat, as the only team in the conference psychologically prepared to compete with them is the Suns, keeping in mind the frail mental state that plagues the Mavs and relative inexperience of the rest of the pack. And head to head, Phoenix may have finally gotten together a roster that can finish the job. It may be a cop out to chose a personal favourite to make it happen, but I’m putting it out there that this is the year the good guys get it right. Now I don’t think anyone can feel comfortable predicting an entertaining NBA Finals, but there’s always the solace of the high drama looming in the Western Conference bracket to tide you over.

It's about that time: 2007-08 Raptors Roster Preview

2007-10-19T14:42:00.000-04:00

As the Raptors move past their European tour of duty and head straight onto the rapidly approaching freight train that is the regular season, Dotrunnings will begin our look at the ’07-08 NBA season by individually examining the players that will comprise the most likely version of the Raps’ season-opening roster. Next week will feature a team profile and conference predictions.

Chris Bosh – The unequivocal center-piece: a perennial All-Star for years to come. Only concern is belaboring foot issues, which still show signs of not going away. Maybe the quickest/fastest power forward in the NBA, a very active presence on the court and will mix it up in spite of a pronounced lack of girth. Has extended his shooting range out to the three-point line, and while still a streak shooter, is very consistent within 17 feet resulting in a tendency to settle for jumpers. Needs to consistently mix face-up instincts with some semblance of a back-to-the-basket game: the Nets beat him up pretty good inside during the Playoffs without much interference from the refs, and as a sign of growing maturity, Chris stuck it out despite mixed results. While his youth underlines the fact that he is still growing as a leader, Bosh has become an increasingly more vocal presence in the locker room. A paradigm of coachable focus, Chris has taken the baton from Vince as face of the Raptors and hasn’t stopped running since.

T.J. Ford – Texas bookend to Bosh, considered the fastest player end to end in the Lig. Waterbug quick, allowing him to get his pull-up jumper off at will: while improving as a shooter off the dribble, can often be out of control. A very streaky stand-still shooter from long range, which is actually an improvement from college and early in his career. Still learning his comfort zone when finishing around the rim, where his outstanding quickness and jumping ability are contrasted by an obvious lack of strength, T.J. missed his share of lay-ins last year, which leaves plenty of room for improvement this season. Tends to over-dribble and will, at times, stagnate the offense by exclusively looking for his own shot; this is contrasted by the several clutch baskets he made during isolations throughout the season, namely the buzzer-beating, game-winning pull-up in Los Angeles against the Clips. Needs to be more active on defense, especially generating steals, as his lack of size makes him a liability as a stopper where he is ass-out when dealing with NBA picks. Plagued by inconsistency, T.J. needs to level out his decision-making which would ultimately elevate him to the top tier of NBA point guards; outstanding in the open court, Ford would most benefit from a team-wide commitment to up-tempo play. Despite the official stance of management, due to the presence of Calderon, his career as a Raptor is dependent on speeding-up the development of his floor game as he could eventually become the featured piece of a trade package to shore up holes in the roster: 18-16 points on 45% shooting with 9-10 assists per game should keep the vultures away.

Andrea Bargnani – young Italian pup whose promising play in his rookie season allowed the Raptor faithful to breathe a collective sigh of relief. Now, big things are projected of 7-footer with a skill set often compared to Dirk Nowitzki’s. Remarkably agile with excellent, if not sometimes slightly awkward-looking, footwork, Andrea has developed a lethal pull-up from 20 feet and in and possesses beyond 3-point range, which makes him deadly in the open court or as a trailer in a developing half-court set. His successful transition into the starting line-up will depend almost exclusively on how well he plays close to the basket on both ends: the Raptors need Bargnani to be a rebounding presence right away, while any stand-out defensive play would be a bonus at this point. Clearly a player with a tremendous offensive up-side, Bargnani will be heavily scouted this season; thus it will be essential that he develops some sort of post ability before teams start exclusively guarding him with smaller players to offset his guard-like Euro perimeter game. Will play a big part in the continued Raps success for this season, as management and fans alike will expect a substantial statistical leap to be made this season.

Anthony Parker – in one season, has become an anchor for the squad and a Mitchell favourite. Steady shooting guard is a solid complementary player with a well-rounded game after leaving European ball as a perennial MVP candidate. A steady shooter and solid, though not exactly explosive, scorer, Parker is also considered the Raps’ backcourt defensive stopper. Offensively, he is at his best when curling off screens and taking advantage of defensive rotations sagging off him, while tending to resort to fade-aways on the rare isolation opportunity. Anthony is an excellent team player/locker-room citizen, who will be trusted to start despite a slow pre-season: has another few years to go before officially becoming long in the tooth. One of the extreme beige members of the roster, Parker can appear so yellow at times that he is affectionately referred to, in these parts, as ‘Jaundice’.

Jose Calderon – ‘Ocho’ is, hands down, the best back-up point guard in the Lig, and almost the perfect counter-point to the at-times electric, at-times frustrating Ford. Bolstered by his recent outstanding international play for Spain, Calderon is growing into the consummate quarterback who makes excellent decisions running the offense. His increasingly lethal jumper is juxtaposed by an under-rated ability to get to the rim and finish; Jose still has yet to develop much of a mid-range game. While displaying a tendency to get torched by the Lig’s quicker points, Calderon’s size and active hands make him an above average defender. Anchoring a potent second unit, Jose’s rapid development will certainly put pressure on Sam to bolster his minutes, which may result in seeing both Ford and Calderon on the court for extended periods. Calderon’s continued progression as a stud point guard could ultimately make Ford expendable, a reality Colangelo may have to face sooner than later.

Jason Kapono – Shooter extradornaire who came out of Miami with a rep as the Lig’s preeminent 3-point marksman: Colangelo bit with a big contract to shore up the small forward quandary. Playing time should be determined by his ability (or lack of) defensively, but may still find himself as a staple in the starting line-up because of his complimentary offensive skill set/ability to open up the floor for the ‘stars’: there is no indication Kapono can create his own shot, so he may be almost wasted as a sub. If he can keep from being a defensive liability and manages to shoot approaching the sort of advertised consistency, all signs point towards Jason cementing a slot in the rotation.

Jorge Garbajosa – Garbo has been a contender for ‘toughest man in the Lig’ ever since he set foot on North American soil; this dude is one tough hombre. Foot is still a concern after a gruesome season-ending injury which appears to have not healed yet, but it didn’t stop him from playing for Spain in the Olympic qualifiers this summer. Possesses very little in the form of NBA athletic ability, but maintains efficiency on the court by being a remarkably savvy player. Needs to spend a little more time near the rim on offense, as he sometimes resembles a Spanish Charles Oakley for his tendency to float outside. Excellent passer, solid rebounder and surprisingly effective defender. Great glue guy who has earned the affection of Mitchell, will be a staple in the rotation at the 4 or 3. His love for maintaining stubble rivals George Michael during the Wham! years.

Carlos Delfino – Argentinean import, snatched up from the Piston scrap heap after failing to crack their rotation. Don’t let the delicately-plucked eye brows and novella star looks fool you; at his best, he can be an active slasher that relentlessly attacks the rim. Slightly undersized for a ‘3’, he may struggle defensively against the NBA elite at this position. Sam is already trying to light a fire under him during the pre-season via diatribes about his underwhelming showings in practice to the press. Would be an ideal primary contributor off the bench with his ability to create his own shot and could team with Calderon to make an already effective second unit down-right scary. The jury is still out on whether Carlos can bring it every night in the Lig, and although he could be considered a ‘2’, he is more a scorer than a shooter, who is equally likely to be buried deep on the bench and become a frequent resident of Sam’s dog house. Could really add to the rotation but is literally a 50-50 proposition; Delfino has sworn up and down that he will return to Europe forever if he can not get significant minutes with the Raps – nobody in Detroit is holding their breath.

Rasho Nesterovic – an old school, goalie-type centre with extremely limited mobility, who will settle into a situational player for the Raps. Has decent touch out to 18 feet and is an excellent passer for a big man: absolutely refuses to dunk and has zero back-to-the-basket game. Length and size can pose problems defensively, as he will get some blocks despite his inability to leave the ground. Will see limited minutes with the continued development of Bargnani, and despite a solid summer playing in the Olympic qualifiers, is ultimately being phased out of the Raptors plans.

Kris Humphries – the dirty-work, undersized, front-court sub that needs to bang to get playing time. Closer to 6’7 than 6’9, Humphries effectiveness on the court is directly proportional to his activeness. Becomes clear when watching him on the offensive end that he still considers himself a skill player, often to his detriment. Was a highly recruited high school player who prematurely left to the NBA after the briefest of stints in College – he’s still learning what works and what doesn’t, especially on the offensive end. Guaranteed to spend time in Sam’s dog house at some point during the season, but he could work up to a regular 15-20 minutes in the rotation because of Mitchell’s love for the dirty-work guy. Lack of size really hurts him at both ends of the court, forcing him to outwork opponents to be effective: his performance drastically increases against subs as opposed to playing against NBA-caliber starters. Another of the extreme beige men on the roster, son could clearly pass and seems to be permanently affixed with a vacant look. Maceo Baston is taking a hard look at Humphries’ minutes.

Joey Graham – could be his last season as a pro. A known weight room junkie that seems to have all the physical tools to make it in the NBA, but appears to have little to no clue when he actually gets on the floor. A player who, theoretically, will be given every opportunity to solidify the ‘3’ hole in the Raptors’ line-up, as management’s patience at his development wears thin. Would be an instant starter if he could bring energy at both ends of the floor, rebound, attack the basket and hit an open jumper, yet rarely puts himself in the position to affect a game in any manner whatsoever. Basketball IQ appears to be glaringly deficient, can be viewed as the anti-Garbo. Should at least be a defensive stopper to be used on opposing high-scoring 3’s, sadly, hasn’t worked out that way so far. Would bring a huge boost to the size and athleticism of the small forward spot on this squad and fill a gaping need on the roster – a disappointing season could signal the end of his career.

Juan Dixon – a well-timed Colangelo pick-up last year, is now just another tool in the shed for Mitchell. If Joey Graham were ever to emerge, Delfino would probably get minutes at the ‘2’ which would push Dixon out of the rotation all together; however, the odds of that happening seem slim to none. Although painfully, chronically undersized Dixon adds to the roster with his ability to create his own shot; he’s a scorer who can be a streaky shooter. Was used at times by Sam creatively as a defensive stopper, despite his size, inserted simply to give the opposition’s big backcourt scorer a different look on defense. Could find a spot in the rotation as a Vinnie ‘Microwave’ Johnson-type scorer off the bench; tremendous character guy who may end up sticking elsewhere if minutes don’t turn up in Toronto.

Maceo Baston – part of the Macabi pipeline where he played with Anthony Parker, was picked-up off the Pacer’s roster to address rebounding and interior defensive issues. Michigan product provides length and athleticism at the ‘4’, absolutely needs to bring energy to the floor by blocking shots, rebounding and finishing strong at the rim. Counterpoint to Humphries’ bruising game, as Baston is more of a finesse player, which may catch the ire of Mitchell. Minutes are definitely there for the taking, if he can provide the Raptors with something off the bench.

Darrick Martin – becoming more and more moot as time passes, may be best suited to an assistant coaching role sooner than later. There are some who feel his mentoring of the Raps’ two young point guards has pretty much exhausted its benefits, but his veteran savvy could still come in handy. Will see more DNP’s this season than in possibly any of his previous 13 years in the Lig. Career highlight came when he smoked newly Lakered Gary Payton for an injury-riddled Timberwolf team in the ’03-04 Playoffs. Surprisingly uncreative on court presence, who rarely looks to distribute and always settles for his patented 18-21 foot jumper; must know that cup of coffee is coming to an end.

Luke Jackson – former Oregon Duck star swingman is coming up at the booty end of the numbers game. Listed at 6’8 coming out of college, Jackson is 6’6 at best, and not the sort of athlete who could compensate by losing two inches. May hang on to a roster spot, but with the signing of Kapono, who is a taller, more consistent-shooting, more experienced version of himself, Jackson has lost any chance of cracking the Raps’ rotation.

Coach Sam Mitchell – as reigning Coach of the Year, and holder of a most-valued contract extension, there is a glow emanating from Sam that cannot be attributed to the S-curl juice alone. While conventional wisdom may have dictated that Colangelo go another way with the coaching situation, the formerly much maligned Mitchell headed a very coachable Raptor squad to an impressive turn-around culminating in an Atlantic division pennant. Sure he was out-coached for the most part by Lil’ Lawrence Frank in the Playoffs, but the stigma of being a weak tactical coach has seemed to somewhat subside for Sam as have the jokes about the Raptors’ one set playbook. His ability to develop players is clearly a strength, which may have reinforced Colangelo’s decision to stick with Mitchell for this relatively young squad. Will often address players straight through the press and can afford to with the lack of veterans on the roster: rides the precarious line of player’s coach and disciplinarian. With MoPete gone, Sam’s gonna have to find someone else to occupy primary residence in the dog house, which will probably go to hapless Joey G or a certain, surely South American. It will be interesting to see if Mitchell shows the tactical acumen to get the Raptors into the open court more often and see if he can improve the team’s standing as least-effective out of a time out. However, based on the effort he is regularly able to coax out of this team, there is a lot of goodwill to go around for Sam in Toronto, and only the most disastrous of seasons could expel that. Besides, regardless how bad the Raps are struggling, there’s always the Leafs to take that negative attention away.

Indians fans are ecstatic; Cavs fans…not so much

2007-10-05T16:12:00.001-04:00

“And now, starting at smaaaaaaaall forward for YOUR Brook-lyyyyyyn Lack-Luster Comebacks…throw your ROCS high in the sky for NUUUUUMBER TWEENTY-THREE…”

Don’t say I never told you. Do the math yourself. Lebo (haha JC killed it with that story) takes the player option in 2010, the ex-swamp Nets pull the plug on VC’s option year in 2011 and voila. A synergistic orgy of entertainment and sports: plus ROC chains for everyone!

Do you really think Stern will mind? Protect Cleveland's interests? Small market rights are an oxymoron. The only question left is if LB beats Kobe to NYC…

Ye and Curtis Wrap Up – What Does It All Mean?

2007-09-21T15:08:00.000-04:00

I don’t think anybody can be overly surprised by the results: Kanye released a critically well-released album that the majority found artistically pleasing with a persistent minority grading it as less than compelling (re: boring) “hip-pop”. Across the board, Curtis was thought to be derivative, with commentary ranging from pointlessly worthless music to ‘not as bad as some people say’. Ultimately, the music industry won big by getting the most impressive first week numbers from any two albums in recent memory. Ye came through in the head to head battle, bringing in the largest first week sales since T.I.’s King, considerably out-legging Curtis, ultimately causing 50 to furiously back peddle with excuses over his guarantees of outselling the Graduation. In the end, 50 failed to even mention those threats (!?!) of retirement, settling for the more tried and true PR-friendly statement to address matters.

All in all, this made for good theater, but is this the end of 50? While this has been an exercise in public embarrassment for Mr. Jackson, his career will still be dictated by his future work. For better or worse, 50 still has the ear of the music buying public, which is a huge commodity in the record industry. Marketing mistakes were clearly made by a panicky record label, who, fearing the lack of buzz, rushed the unveiling of multiple singles before the album’s actual release. But at the end of the day, it’s on 50 that these singles were basically hot trash: if ‘I Get Money’ had been the first single, things may have played out differently.

However, the one thing ‘Curtis’ did reveal is that he may be falling prey to the same force that has afflicted past chart topping rappers such as Eminem and S. Dot, amongst others: 50 appears to be running out of material. Overcoming adversity has always been a big part of the American Dream and hood posturing has become a slightly twisted take on this ideal, if not a hyperbolized version of its most compelling form. However, the questions always remains of what happens when you leave the hood/trailer park: how long can you rehash that old lifestyle that garnered you all those listeners in the first place, especially when the marketing machine takes away that choice, forcing you to keep it (industry) real. Ironically, 50’s edge in the rap game has always been his impossibly hard image, which would appear impossibly difficult to maintain; Kanye has invented himself as the ostentatious, everyman underdog, and in a celebrity-obsessed age, gives the listener an opportunity to be a witness to his rise to fame through his music. Unfortunately for Curtis, when done right, the ‘Entourage’-rapper has become just as compelling an option as the ‘gangsta’ alternative as far as mass appeal goes, with the bonus of allowing for a much more realistic shot at longevity for the artist.

If there’s anything concrete to be taken from this so-called battle of the ‘hip-hop titans’, it’s that a new business model is now in effect for the record industry. There will be no gimmick too contrived to be used to drum up record sales, and I have a feeling the pseudo-rivalry thing is just a start. As if on cue, Jay-Z has launched the hype machine behind his latest comeback (!?) effort, an album inspired by the movie American Gangster, which will have a joint music-film release in November. Shawn pulls off a double coup, by declaring this effort will be inspired by the notorious drug kingpin depicted in the movie, giving him an excuse to return to his acclaimed Reasonable Doubt hood-tales roots topically, and abandon the less successful President Hov steez that he currently is beholden to (although some would say it was all an act to begin with). The first leaked single is a Pharrell-produced minimalist venture called Blue Magic (yes, a clean version awaits...props to Nah Right for this one), and yes, that’s Skateboard P doing En Vogue on the hook. Funnily enough, Curtis is already promising a competing release to be dropped on the same day Shawn’s project: judging by the first single, he may have a legitimate shot at redemption.

Kanye and Curtis Album Reviews – More Than Musical Alliteration

2007-09-18T10:26:00.000-04:00

So it’s a week post-release, but in the name of the most recent epic battle/marketing ploy to have shaken the foundations of the hip hop (cough…rap) world, I’ve decided to make my blogging comeback by reviewing the two albums. Why? Consider this a public service, concerning the edification of worthwhile music…

Graduation

1. Good Morning (Intro) – The track that conceptually introduces the whole Graduation theme of the album. Musically, Kanye establishes his newest beat-making steez: the ‘anthem’. Not a big and fantasical as ‘We Major’ but the vocal sample enhances its grandeur, also aided by a closing Jay-Z ‘Blueprint’ sample.

2. Champion – One of the few up-tempo joints that bounces to a Steely Dan sample. Feel good music that establishes another trend for the album: Ye’s sampling mostly white folks now.

3. Stronger – You know this. Obvious single material, but even more so for this album. I’m partial here, but apparently some people don’t get the concept of making dance music hip hop.

4. I Wonder – On some “When they reminisce over you” ish, Ye let’s you know what time it is to single and double-time rhyme schemes, over a feed-backing sample which bumps behind the kung fu snares. A different type of soul, which could be hit or miss depending on the listener.

5. Good Life feat. T-Pain – The ‘next’ single, Kanye makes a highly synthesized sounding club anthem with the omnipresent keys over a chipmunk-sounding PYT sample. Certainly far from up tempo, this celebration of ballin’ (similar BPM) has Teddy Pain sanging on the hook who, ironically, doesn’t sound overly altered. Cute Curtis reference, but the ‘snakes on a plane’ line may be the single worst rhyme on the album. Take this for what is it, but as far as MJ-sampled instrumentals go, Good Life > Izzo. Real Talk (No Kells).

6. Can’t Tell Me Nothing – The original buzz single, Ye goes to an outside producer for his underdog rants. If you like this song, you are guaranteed to love this album. Bizarre celebration of the Young Jeezy adlib – I guess this is what the rap game has come to…

7. Barry Bonds feat. Lil Wayne – Believe it or not, this is the joint for the heads: the Graduation’s proverbial ‘Unbelievable’. Ye comes with one of the harder beats on the album and brings the hot spitter of the moment, Weezy for the ride. Funnily enough, Kanye takes it to the other Carter, who decides to bring some sub-mixtape quality verses for this high profile collabo. And you thought kissing Baby on the lips was a bad career decision…

8. Drunk and Hot Girls feat. Mos Def – This one is gonna fly right over folks’ heads. Some may call this self-indulgent, others may deem it entirely unnecessary. Personally, I think this adds depth to the album; call it a view into the other side of the game or the darker side of mission running, appropriately backdropped by a twisted carvinal-esque instrumental. Cuz let’s face it, even tho you have convinced company from the VIP to head back with you to the telly, sometimes it can be still not all good. Those with the most zealous opposition to this track may point out the waste of the Mos Def cameo: listen, ‘Two Words’ Mos has left the building. Nobody knows when he’ll be back. Deal with it.

9. Flashing Lights feat. Dwele – Flat out, the gem of the album. A song that seems like a perfect fit, topically and sonically, for the Late Registration album, it finds K speaking on the entrapments of fame, over lush strings with alternating organ stabs. Dwele on the hook was an inspired decision.

10. Everything I Am – Underdog Ye throws his cape on to make something from nothing, utilizing a down-tempo track that even Common wouldn’t touch. Gets Premier to scratch up the chorus: A-Trak must be pissed.

11. The Glory – A brief taste of the chipmunk soul, as Kanye brings his version of church for this ‘anthem’. Up-lifting song, and really, Ye goes pretty hard on this one lyrically too.

12. Homecoming feat. Chris Martin – So this is the track that has been floating around the internets, got upgraded and then had the dude from Coldplay thrown in on the hook. Even with the dated lyrics, it’s clear that Homecoming > Beach Chair…a little foreshadowing for the final track.

13. Big Brother – Certainly not the best song on the album, but it may be its most important and by far the Graduation’s most defining moment. On the surface, this appears to be about some vegetarian, anti-beef between Ye and Jay (over the dude from Coldplay!!?) but it actually gives a unique insight into the outcast nature of West’s standing in the hip-hop game as a non-conformist outsider before he broke the doors down as a producer. Even his success as a legitimate solo artist seemed unforeseeable by the powers that be, which makes S Dot’s mentor-ish role more dumb luck than anything else. At the end of the day, Kanye distinguishes himself further by making a record so candid and reasonably honest (not a strength in rap) that its content would be irreproducible by virtually any artist out, ‘Big Brother’ included. Ye wins again.

And…Curtis

Intro – Going to the gun talk well, while further reinforcing Irish stereotypes…
My Guns – Giving the audience what they want/expect? Or just what he thinks they want/expect. Adequate track.
Man Down – Instead of speaking on guns, it’s on to the actual act of murder. It’s called progression as artist. Piano-loop dominated instrumental is superior to the previous joint.
I’ll Still Kill feat. Akon – Muuuurder? I don’t believe you! Murder! Murder! Your life’s on the line! Beginning of the end of this album; very generic synthesizer-dominated track that might not have made the playlist of those old 50 mixtapes that were so hot in the street way back when.
I Get Money – The album’s saving grace: slowed down ‘I’m a Hustla’ drums with the NYC grimey organ and hypnotizing Audio Two sample. Does it matter that a plethora of artists have dropped freestyles that make 50’s verses look pale in comparison? He’s stanky rich. Uh…Vitamin Water, bitch!?
Come and Go feat. Young Buck – I feel like I’ve heard this already, but the synthesizer stabs possess more urgency than the previous numbers. Someone in Dre’s camp did this, cuz they repeatedly shout out Dr. Dre. Buck adds very little, but I’m sure he’ll be back.
Ayo Technology feat. Justin Timberlake – With all due respect to Naeel, this joint cements the ‘L’ for Curtis. A Timbaland track that would be buried on his own album, really screams disappointment: needed to do better than this as a single. Plus, JT provides the least gangsta ‘Aaaaayo’ in the history of recorded music.
Follow My Lead feat. Robin Thicke – 21 Questions, part 2. Curtis brings the other blue-eyed popular soul singer for another forgettable track. Just calling a square a square and circle a circle…If you’re gonna make a ‘woo ya, do ya’ track, maybe talk more about stuff women are actually feeling…like, say, shoes. Formulas can be complicated sometimes.
Movin’ On Up – A little more interesting of a track here provided by Jake One, kinda like a “If I Can’t” light. 50 even sings on the hook, which will no doubt have Ja Rule punching a wall somewhere.
Straight to the Bank – Another failed single. It’s another adequate track, with a catchy, bumping bass line, but again, covers all too familiar ground. It’s the weak hook that really sinks this one to mediocrity.
Amusement Park – This is just a stanky joint: I mean, its one thing to try and redo “If I Can’t” or even “21 Questions”, but “Candy Shop”? Don’t worry Ja, pain is love…
Fully Loaded Clip – This was actually a mixtape buzz joint made by Havoc, with the intent of ruffling some feathers by mentioning names and capitalizing on the fall out. Was this even supposed to be on the album?
Peep Show feat. Eminem – Em? Where you been? Uh huh. So this is where you at? Alright. You can go back now…
Fire feat. Young Buck and Nicole Scherzinger – Allegedly Dr. Dre put his name to this: he was probably in the gym when this was made. It must have seemed like a good idea to put the Pussy Cat Doll on this…to someone. What that person should really be doing is banning her from talking/speaking/hissing or any other form of non-singing on a record. Really. Oh, there you are Buck. That was quick. Why is this on the album?
All of Me feat. Mary J Blige – Jake One comes through again with a pretty decent track. Then again, maybe I’m just done with the synthesizers. But this is a passable song, even if Mary is reduced to her most derivative form.
Curtis 187 – Synonyms for murder. Betcha forgot about 187. Curtis didn’t.
Touch the Sky feat. Tony Yayo – 50 ends of the album in a blaze of the predictable and mediocre. Sorta reminiscent of “Ain’t No Click” in feel, with the exception that Yayo drops a painfully sub par verse on this. Again, you figure career suicide is relative for a guy that publicly roughs up the 14 year son of a rival music executive, but he’ll always have his dance.

At the end of the day, Kanye's the Graduation brings to mind some classic De La Soul records, with the idea of putting out a consistently strong, conceptually cohesive piece of work that may lack more traditionally-minded singles. Curtis appears to be a collection of B-Sides and lost material that didn't make his more successful releases - unfortunately 50 has included some pretty high profile flops in this mix. I feel like I'll have one last say on this, a wrap up of the aftermath of their relative successes from an industry standpoint; but really, there is a 'What's 50 gonna do now' element to all this. How about this. Big brother at it again...sigh.

The L.A. Rap Up – The Unrelenting Search For Cool Continues...

2007-07-27T19:46:00.000-04:00

So I’m back from the West Coast, specifically the west side of Hollywood and I can happily report that Kordo has successfully made the transition from Dot gwanings to the more languid social climbs of L.A. Spending a week and half around various writers, actors and comedian-types, most of whom are either newish to scene or entrenched and on the come up, I can honestly say I’ve had my fill of the alternate lifestyle that fame-chasing encompasses.
When confronting those obstinate show business barriers, the fight and consequent transition from putting out work/finding work to being recognized for your talent to, ultimately, being compensated for said talent is a struggle known and shared intimately by Los Angelinos. It seems even the less glamorous Joe 9-to-5ers harbor pretensions of infiltrating the industry and you can’t go into a coffee shop in the vicinity of Hollywood without seeing a plethora of would-be screenwriters attempting to bang out their proverbial lottery ticket on an ibook.
While from a distance, it may seem like fame is the primary motivating force for the city (‘Did ya see anyone famous?’ is the most predictable of questions to anyone coming back from the L.A. experience), and maybe to the painfully naïve, the question of artistry and talent may eventually arise. But really, it doesn’t take long to figure out that, unsurprisingly, money is the supreme king-maker: the excess of wealth in L.A. is at times staggering. And that’s not to say having money even impresses out here – sure, it helps a bunch, but the most desired commodity is the ability to make money. That’s what differentiates the range of alphabetized celebrities and the behind-the-scenes move makers. Whether or not you are in front of a camera, if your projects make money you will always have a job, a reservation and a place on the VIP list.
While fame is a much cruder social determiner, even those at the top of the social heap are ever-cognizant of the next big thing.

Enter David Beckham.

Hollywood's newest power couple

Last weekend, while I was enjoying a more grass-roots form of live entertainment (alas, of the poleless variety), a surprising number of A-list types welcomed the arrival of Becks to L.A for his first game as an MLS player. It was a painfully anti-climatic beginning with his new club, the Galaxy, as scores of actors, media whores (I see you, Longoria – siding up to Posh in the VIP box, captive to the bittersweet irony of marrying a genuine star athlete who just happens to ply his trade in a media black hole. Probably makes that whole French-thing extra harder to deal with…) and forgotten 80’s British rockers witnessed the non-event that was the Saturday evening exhibition match against Chelsea (Real Salt Lake wasn’t available, apparently). Beleaguered, unknowing fans attempted to cheer through Beckham’s 12 minute performance of limited touches culminating with him falling victim to an unceremonious two-footed slide tackle by a young, unknown substitute who will be destined to never see first-side soccer for Chelsea this year.

When is marrying the Playoff MVP the social equivalent to marrying a Laker back-up? When he raps in French and plays in San Antonio

With the dubious introductory performance behind him, Tom Cruise and Will Smith hosted an invite-only soiree welcoming the English media darling the following night, attended by a group of celebrities who clearly have no clue of Becks previous on-field exploits, never-mind the imminent career back-slide he is destined to suffer through. So why would a faux-star soccer player be feted by the Hollywood elite? (granted, some members of the L.A. rap community, that in the British Press' estimation are probably quite hard, have been inexplicably less generous) What could possibly be the motivation fueling the social politics of this bizarre movement? We all know son is pretty. (hey, it’s a more compelling rationale than marrying a Spice Girl alone) More convincingly, there is going to be some natural curiosity even to the point of slight deference to anyone who has the immediate attention of the world media, not to mention England following his every move. But really, Beckham’s power lies in the wonderment of his quarter of a billion dollar contract, the overwhelming majority lying in a variety off field endorsements that takes cross-promotional, marketing-synergy to an unprecedented level. Becks' money-making potential has been validated by corporate America. Now everyone wants a piece by association (except maybe Tom Cruise, who might literally…uh…want a piece). You may think all the Lohans and pseudo-heiresses floating around the priciest of real estate may be devoid of any sort of worth other than what they are given (whether by mega rich family or movie studio, enablers come in many forms), but in L.A., they are indisputable money generators: even if its only for the sleazy or struggling club promoter trying to get some buzz. Beckham has now joined their ranks, albeit playing to the marketing fantasies of the taste-makers within big business. I guess it was only a matter of time before this happened (with the impending jail time looming, I'd love to know how Vegas would handicap this...).

Unfortunately, while there maybe some carry-over to the 'Beckham phenomenon' in the short-term, son is destined to be discarded on the scrap-heap of short-lived Hollywood trends like so much Goonies merchandise. This may sound harsh but this is the reality of the meritocracy of professional sports: unlike Hollywood where you can rise to the top for deading the bad guys real good or having an unfettered willingness to publicly display your killer rack. Beckham is the anti-Kobe: a really nice, relatively well-adjusted team player with no ability to dominate a game. Don’t expect to see Jack Nicholson out by Galaxy’s Carson stadium anytime soon…

"You can never be me...ask LeBron."

David Beckham will get over for now on the sheer exoticism he exudes to an unknowing audience. Sadly, the subtleties of his talent are clearly beyond said audience, and will no doubt provide more fuel to the anti-soccer agenda gleefully carried out by the Jim Romes of the mainstream sports media in the U.S. The fact Becks has been so eagerly co-signed by Hollywood will merely antagonize the aforementioned commentators, who will eagerly attribute the over-hype to some plot hatched by the manipulative liberal forces that run L.A.; the same shadowy figures that hypocritically drive the entertainment industry to produce moral-less trash for a viewing public at record profits while criticizing the government and its wars. You may have thought it was impossible to use soccer to villainize George Clooney, but Fox News sure didn’t.

Escape to L.A. - the first 36 hours.

2007-07-15T15:38:00.000-04:00

So my quasi-spontaneous plans have finally reached fruition: I have upped and out of the GTA for a 10 day visit how the other side lives in Los Angeles. And by other side, I mean Kordo. And having a smooth-talking, industry cat as a host in a city hopelessly addicted to catering to every social whim bourne out of celebrity culture, definitely begs the promise of mayhem, despite the baby baller budget limitations and a lack of resmeblance to any current, working celebrity (if anybody wants to call Cuban Linx a celebrity, you'd be still telling lies to me...).
I will say the trip down was a remarkably smooth one, considering the nature of border crossing in general. My flight was out of Buffalo so I grabbed a room at a swarmy airport hotel so I would have somewhere to leave my car for the extended period (yes, they do that). So early Saturday morning I crossed into the States via Lewiston and had to deal with a young African-American immigration officer (where if she was standing about 80 feet to the left she just woulda been a black person in Canada) whose weave looked like it had stayed out too late. It couldn't have been a better look: for a brief moment in time, beige was unstoppable. I could of been an explosives expert with a penchant for transporting exotic fruits and animals - honey was not stressing me. I really feel that if black women were in charge of more things, my standard of life would be considerable higher. Ladies, work on that.
So after a very brief stay at a Best Western not run by Best Western, but in fact, a shadow faction only known to the public as the 'Shavani Group', I managed to get the women at the desk to stop asking me if I was rolling solo (I was waiting for her to ask me if I needed her to arrange for some 'company' but the offer never came...I can only imagine the Shavani Group rolls deep in the pimp game) and shuttled to the airport. The ultra grimey Buffalo airport. Filled to the brim with ugly people. I know it was very early, but it had to be the least attractive group of people I've ever been around in my life. And due to the fact that the airport 'shuts down' for a period in the morning, it quickly turns into the most hectic environment possible short of a war zone, with everyone being cued into these long, barely organized lines to get through security. This is what I imagined the Partition of India was like, if it was recreated with mostly white folks with no religous animosity towards each other. And just to top it off, an anonymous siren started wailing, with absolutely no explanation. In a weird way, it actually perked things up: distracted you from all the ugly people.
Security itself was like an annoying women; high maintenance with a stress on a superficial thoroughness. Shoes is a big thing now; apparently the threat of footware looms omninously for airport security. The Buffalo airport in particular has a new feature for its security detail - a futuristic walk-through metal detector made by GE that shoots several streams of undetermined gas at the person going through. Somebody should really check if Dick Cheney is on the board at GE, because clearly people are getting paid. There was a very random selction process run by Will I Am's twin over who would get blasted by the gas for the sake of keeping everyone safe, but it seemed to involve finding the oldest possible people wearing the loosest clothing. And every single time it's like they never saw it coming...
So the oasis that was the post-security pre-boarding area in the Buffalo airport was literally like a desirable VIP area in a dank club - everything was better on the inside. There was a stop over at Chicago, which is a relatively pleasant, expansive airport in itself, but the mood was significantly darkened by the constant reminder every 5 minutes over the PA of the terror alert status (for the record, it's at Orange. Is anybody still wondering if Bush won?). I managed to sleep through most of the flight to L.A. And that's that. Kordo and the boy Devo picked me up in a unripe Cherry red convertible Saab 900 with a tapedeck and I was quickly transported by to the early 90s. And then, shortly after, K's crib. Here are the first quick impressions of the city:

1. You absolutely must drive in L.A.
L.A. is a driver's city, laid out in segments over a large space. And maybe it's just because I was rolling in a convertible, but it feels as if the prospect for inter-car socializing is crazy tangible. At a longer stop light, it feels like a party could literally break out. Conversation is a norm. You need a car in L.A.

2. There are some fly ass rides out here.
It gets to the point where noticing BMWs or Porshes becomes moot. High end cars here are painfully common place.

3. Kordo lives deep in the hood. The batty-hood.
Kordo reps West Hollywood. His crib is in a complex that could actually be Melrose Place's gay lost twin. The main strip here makes Church street look watered down in its gayness - even the convenience stores are manned by teh ghey. Strangely, no dykes (maybe they just come out at night). But the area immediately around his spot couldn't be gayer. Let's put it this way: maybe 5 blocks away is a Fat Burger and a couple of girls holla'd at us from the sunroof of their strecth limo (The one girl actually said 'Hey sexys!' which was extremely considerate in her inclusiveness considering there were 3 of us. Deep down, I know Kordo still thinks she was talking about him repeatedly...). Back in the 'hood', 4 guys holla'd at us (!!!) wearing matching sunglasses (!) from a Navigator. There is so much gay here sometimes you can't tell at first - when I heard these dudes, I immediately turned to see which woman they were yelling at. Even on sight, it was only the 'gun clicking' motioning that clued me in. (and for the record, Kordo did think they were primarily yelling at him, if not exclusively).

4. The people, in general, are not ugly out here.
Truly from an average person perspective, this is the anti-Buffalo airport. And women make an event out here - rolling with mens can be a tougher look at times.

5. Everyone here wants to be in the 'industry'.
It may seem tired as so many people in L.A. are in the aspiring category, but at the end of the day, there's always at least a bare minimum acknowledgement to those who are trying to make it happen, successful or not. It's clearly a hustle and, like any hustle, a good front does wonders...it can be almost shocking witnessing the contrved nature of socializing out here but it doesn't make it any less real (even if the front is not).

6. With the above being said, there really are people out here who drive through Beverly Hills in their M5's reading scripts out loud to the bluetooth.
Really.

7. Beach dogs are the most well behaved domestic animal known to man.
And why shouldn't they be. They are the envy of all other dogs. Hell, I would feel lucky to come back in another life as an L.A. beach dog. The following is true for every breed except those stupid little pugs (and I didn't even get the worst of that little killer...).

So the first night has come and gone and we hit the local 'spot' (a 5 minute walk in a "straighter" direction from the crib) and I'll save the details for a recap of the nights out here. I'll leave it at there was much drinking, some pastel coloured cigerettes were involved, bottle service with a DJ scratching wildly on some CD-driven tables and some Mexican-American gull who let me briefly fall alseep in her lap. Ah, to rely on the kindness of strangers...

I'll throw out another update when some thangs get around to happening. It's been pretty nice so far and I'll do my best to make some stories happen. No real celebrity sightings yet (although Devo and Kordo saw Lloyd from Entourage eating dinner. And yes, Kordo swears Lloyd made eyes at him...) but that's whatever anyways. Although Kordo has informed me he got an invite via a second party to professional socialite and black dick admirer Kim Kardishian's private bash next weekend - the catch being he can't bring anymore men as they are trying to strictly regulate the number of balls at the event. I dunno how this will play out but I may have to introduce some evidence that would make me a more suitable guest for such an affair ('Yeah, he looks beige, but other parts of him are MUCH darker...so he's good then?").

Quick shout out to Martin for shearing me before I left (mucho gracias) and Laurie for the crazy story of his baptism into the world of porn. Crazy. Oh, Ateet and Don: go get em Wednesday.

Out from the Left Coast till the next story. Or as they say over here, 'episode'.

When Tragedy Takes the Form of a Mexican Referee

2007-06-22T16:18:00.000-04:00

For those unaware, Canada’s national soccer team had its exciting run through the Gold Cup cut painfully short as a tying goal scored in the last seconds of extra time in their semi-final game against the U.S. was amazingly disallowed by an old nemesis…

Predictably, all you could get out of him was a "Señor I no habla inglés!"

Atiba Hutchinson’s would-be 94^th minute marker was, with shocking disregard for the rules of the game, wiped out by Benito Archundia, resulting in a 2-1 home-field win for the U.S. If his name sounds vaguely familiar, he’s the same referee that gave Canada the business during the most recent World Cup qualifying bid when he single-handedly donated a couple of goal-related calls to Honduras resulting in our elimination. But that was a Canadian side that seemed doomed from the start, underachieving early and struggling mightily to put ball in the net.

And that is what makes this year’s Mexican stand-off such a travesty: the Gold Cup squad has been nothing short of brilliant at times, playing a ball-control style heavily reliant on a newer breed of player donning the red and white. The aforementioned Hutchinson and the spiritual centre of the team, Julian De Guzman have combined in the middle of the field to give the national team the sort of foundation that could allow them to play more than competitively with the big boys of the CONCACAF region, as witnessed by last night’s match with the FIFA-desired juggernaut. Even a revitalized Dwayne De Rosario leading the up-front charges with Ali Gerba and young Ian Hume give Canada potentially something they haven’t had in its history: depth at the attacking positions.

Is he jersey purchase worthy?...Mr. C sez 'SI'! Hey, with a little activator and some shades, we could have the second coming of Eazy-E

Although the Americans imposition of their athleticism seemed to bother certain players more than others (not not looking at you Paul Stalteri), the Canadians clearly deserved better and had drawn several poor tackles out of a stretched American defense, eventually cumulating in a somewhat questionable red-carding late in the game. (I would be remiss to not mention the general over-rated nature of U.S. golden boy Landon Donovan – any dependence upon him will be one reason this American team will struggle to attain world class stature). Which, again, emphasizes the pain of being deprived of what was right and good: Canada would have been up one player in the extra time and, at the very least, had a chance to eliminate the U.S. in penalties.

It would be an understatement to say this tournament was prepared with the intention of holding a Mexico-U.S. final. Still, it is the potential denied by this moment of unfairness, and not Canada’s leap 30-odd places up the FIFA rankings, that should reinforce what will be an exciting future for Canadian soccer, further highlighted by a strong U-20 side that hosts the FIFA championships starting July 1^st. At the end of the day, things looks bright, unlike, say, over at Arsenal, where Henry’s impending defection casts a huge shadow over the top of the Premiership. Good thing I put in the Barca scarf request early (L, if you're reading this and you haven't made the purchase - don't buy it not now, buy it right now) : the ranks of the contenders in English soccer just got noticably slimmer. Here in CONCACAF, you can add one more team to legitimately challenge the old FIFA-endorsed guard.

The Life You Save May Be Your Own: A Review of R Kelly’s Double Up

2007-06-18T15:34:00.000-04:00

One of popular music’s most polarizing figures has recently released a new full player offering entitled ‘Double Up’: proof that Robert’s legal representation weren’t the only ones hard at work over the past year. And funnily enough, it has been during this most recent personal crisis that the R has enjoyed some of his greatest professional success; even going so far as to create a bizarrely controversial musical mini-movie, ‘Trapped in the Closet’, to further enhance his buzz. Much to the dismay of his detractors, Mr. Kelly has always tried to push the envelope to emphatically stress the unadulterated ‘realness’ he offers to the listener, often at the expense of any regard for tact.

"Uh, Kells - real talk about that whole tactlessness thing."

But this is what R Kelly has done to establish his own musical ‘lane’, an accomplishment in itself for an artist who was at one point musically and physically almost indistinguishable from a rival singer (but where’s Aaron Hall now, suckas!?). Even in an industry as cynical as the record biz where talent and image are often almost inseparable, Kelly’s songwriting skills has always been considered prodigious. However, it was only when he began to develop his narrative style featured on the ‘Down Low’ series of records that he began to differentiate himself from his R&B brethren on his way to becoming the current juggernaut of the genre. Now in 2007, R Kelly is giving rappers a run for their money, saturating the airwaves on a series of remixes that has him flexing the most desired quality of popular black music as of late: swag – hence the creation of the alter ego, ‘Kells’. I have already alluded to him being this generation’s Rick James (for better or worse): but the question that begs of his new album is one of boundaries: has this man gone too far. Kells, being enabled by his unique stylistic approach to musical story-telling, has already come dangerously close to becoming merely a caricature depicting some of the more outlandish negative stereotypes in his quest to keep it real. So far, his guest spots in remixes hasn’t left him with enough rope to hang himself, but with a whole album to himself, will he finally cross that line of extreme bad taste that will lead to his decline. Here’s a look at the album/potential train wreck song by song:

1. The Champ – featuring new best buddy Swizz Beatz in a quasi-dramatic introduction loosely based on the Jadakiss mixtape anthem. Robert addresses the two sides of that coin called fame, however, the haters get it here, mostly. Like it’s their fault you have video-taping tendencies…

2. Double Up feat. Snoop Dogg – Robert takes this mid-tempo track down the Roger Troutman/Teddy Pain route with some synthesized vocals in an ode to not limiting options. An uninspired Snoop comes through to deliver the usual placations. Hey, if you could live like this, you’d sing about it too…

3. Tryin’ to Get a Number feat. Nelly – This coulda been hot – six maybe five years ago. Funny, that Nelly’s sing-song rapping is very much what R is winning with now.

4. Get Dirty feat. Chamillionaire – You think Robert liked that Ridin’ Dirty song? Another mid-tempo, rap-stylized ode to stuntin’ with another Midwest/Dirty South type rapper. You get the feeling the R might stand for ‘redundancy’.

5. Leave Your Name – Finally, things change up with a ballad: R uses the synthesized vocal accents, again, to make a long-winded message for his voicemail. Kinda makes me wish I was listening to ‘Your Body’s Calling’ instead for some reason…

6. Freaky in the Club - a melodic dancehall-influenced little ditty. No Diddy, tho – which is good. Not much to say here; kept things surprisingly inoffensive given the title with only the allusion to Mad Cobra as a reminder.

7. The Zoo – Resembles a generic past Kells’ ballad until he takes it to the whole sex-jungle analogy. Recently, Robert seems to be partial to a little gorilla lovin’ but here, he’s a sexasaurus. Yes, it sounds like an ancient beast, but that may only be relative to his partner…

8. I’m A Flirt feat. T-Pain and T.I. - Club anthem, you’ve already heard this, cousin. Kells let’s you know he will steal your girl. Don’t hate. Just make sure she showers before she comes back…

9. Same Girl feat. Usher – The second single. It’s a testament to the power of Kells that every other R&B singer has to do Robert when they perform on a song with him; it’s like he’s...contagious. Mr. Biggs really needs to beat the hell out of both these dudes for getting played out by the same girl (possibly his girl...can someone say 'remix'?). It’s funny because Robert wants to make said girl his wife, while Usher’s just running on through: Kells makes it inescapably clear who the more ghetto individual is.

10. Real Talk – This may seem early for an album climax, but here’s Kells doing the most mind-blowing narrative of an argument with his girl. This has to be experienced to be believed: I’ll leave you with some choice lyrics…real talk:

“I’ve been with you five years and you listening to your motherf%cking girlfriends: I don’t know why you f*ck with them old jealous, no men-havin’-ass hoes anyway. Real talk.”

“You’re always running at the mouth telling your girls your motherf*cking business, when they don’t eat with us; they don’t sleep with us; besides what they eat don’t make us sh!t. Real talk.”

“You ain’t gotta worry about me no more and the next time your ass get horny: go f%ck one of your funky-ass friends - hell, you probably doing that sh!t anyway! You gonna burn what?!! Bitch, I wish you woooould burn my motherf%ckin’ clothes – with your triflin’ ass!”

11. Hook It Up feat. Huey – Kells looking for a hook up from the ‘Pop, Lock and Drop it’ dude. She probably mad young, cuz that dude couldn’t be out of high school. I’ll go as far to say that this is slightly better than the Nelly and Chamillionaire songs.

12. Rock Star feat. Kid Rock and Ludacris - Somebody must have told Robert there was a rock star theme going on this summer. Got an actual white guy to help prove his point.

13. Best Friend feat. Keyshia Cole and Polow Da Don – So Kells concocted the most hood scenario possible: a conjugal visit for a locked up Robert from wifey (hood songstress Cole) and his best friend (uh, Polow). Good time to accuse them of infidelity. You may think he couldn’t have made this more over the top, but he got Keyshia to finish the song by crying out ‘What about the KIDS?!!’ Much too late for that.

14. Rollin’ – Kells takes a break from hood depravity and the club to call out the haters while flossing. Ground-breaking stuff.

15. Sweet Tooth – Back to the slow up. Throwback R, with the throwback sex analogy.

16. Havin’ a Baby – Deliriously happy lunch pale Robert knocks up an unidentified singer. Oddly docile selection which, in itself, makes it sound like might have been court-ordered: ends with some pregnancy coaching.

17. Sex Planet – As indicated by its title, some more bedroom music. It may be a stranger element to his allure, but Kells continues with his tendency to speak about sex in metaphors: yes ladies, he’s about your black hole, but that doesn’t necessarily exclude a trip to ‘Uranus’. Don’t be scared…we haven't even gotten to the part about the meteor 'showers'.

18. Rise Up - Humanitarian Robert (oh, he exists) comes out to do an ode about the Virginia Tech tragedy. Does his best to do understanding.

19. I Like Love – R Kelly does reggae without ‘being about reggae’ in this shout out to his fans. Apparently, there’s a lot of things Kells doesn’t like but, in the end, he’s all about love. Me too, Robert. Me too.

It would be easy to blame R Kelly for somehow initiating the down turn of modern culture and trying to rope in this release as evidence, but that would considerably over stress the importance of this album (keep in mind, in a recent diatribe, Robert compared himself to such luminaries as Marvin Gaye, Bob Marley, Muhammad Ali and, for good measure, Martin Luther King Jr.) . For the most part, Kells rides slightly ahead of the current trend-setting curve for popular black music which is saying very little. There is a lot of forgettable material here, sandwiched between the moments of shock value (‘Real Talk’, ‘Best Friend’) and contrived blandness (and there’s something to be said about an artist when his most contrived efforts are not centered around shock but instead the mundane). If there’s anything Robert may have proved here, it’s that he can sing over the generic, radio-friendly rap track potentially making the actual rappers obsolete in that capacity (which should strike fear into the hearts of many a rap dude…I’m not not looking at you, Nelly). He could have lost at least two of the rapper collabos and a slow jam to tidy things up, while the lack of a more groove friendly ‘Step In the Name of Love’-type ballad really hurts the over all package. In the end, this is something that can be put in the CD player as background party-music while dodging the slower offerings (or just saving them for later, as it were). Even the biggest R Kelly fans will find this uninspiring – and that’s not hate Kells, just some real talk.

In Praise of the Predictable

2007-06-13T18:18:00.000-04:00

Nobody can deny the appeal of the underdog; we are naturally predisposed to sympathize and often be moved to root for those who have the odds stacked against them. Maybe their story is an impossibly compelling one. Maybe for the truly cynical, it’s about the surprise of seeing something that rarely happens: the shock value of the unpredictable. Regardless of the logic, I personally tend to succumb to this tick of human nature and, trust, it can make being a sports fan a very unrewarding experience (ask me how those MJ years went and I struggle to revive the part of me that died when Phoenix was felled by that cursed John Paxson dagger many moons ago).

However, even I have to admit that sometimes it’s just best to substitute surprise with something that possesses a little more substance. Just because a consequence does not allow for interpretation, does not mean its finality can be just as pleasing in its definiteness. Plus, you don’t have to wonder if your cable went out, neither (my question to you, David Chase, is if you were so comfortable with your ending why did you flee to France during its broadcast and bring up words like ‘audacious’ when describing it).

Culturally iconic television aside (will people see the Wire’s better now?), I take no joy in watching the NBA season wind down to its last breath, despite my monetary empowerment from the quicker ending. Last night’s game may have been exciting, but in the way that two bottom rung teams from the Big East duking it out in a tight affair in February is exciting. If you enjoy a close game for the sake of competitiveness, it was interesting. However, contrary to popular belief, watching professionals miss lay-up after lay-up does not constitute excellent defense, it just means the game has turned ugly. The Cavs really should have taken Game 3: the game played out in a best possible scenario for them (not counting, of course, the one involving Duncan, Parker and Ginobili all on the verge of fouling out by halftime). Fans may scream and shout about how the game ended but I truly can’t help but think the League did LeBron a huge favour by not putting him on the line for three shots with the series, ultimately, in the balance.

At the end of the day, barring a truly spectacularly implausible comeback where Cleveland plays at some other-worldly level (the part that makes it implausible), it's clear that this series needs to end. Immediately. Sadly, it comes down to the disproportionate ability between the two teams involved – the Cavs are inferior to San Antonio on every level imaginable. As far as match-ups go, I still believe Cleveland would struggle to beat any of the teams the Spurs took out (yes, Denver too) in a seven game series. Chronically out-coached Mike Brown finally made some defensive adjustments, waiting in an almost Mitchell-esque belated fashion to play, what would appear to be, his last strategic cards. Now that Pop and Co. have a night to take that game plan apart, Game 4 will be the definition of moot. And there’s absolutely no way Manu ends up with 3 points on Thursday…

There’s an analogy here somewhere – something about stepping to someone greater than you with no game, perhaps.

This most forgettable of Finals takes nothing away from LeBron as a player: in fact, it may well have helped in giving the Cavs’ management the sort of insight necessary to turn their team into a legitimate championship contender. But for now, my lasting memory of the series will be of Varejao spinning in the lane and attempting that ill-advised, potenitally game-tying scoop which barely hit iron. A comical surprise that surely everyone could have done without: this is one series that would actually benefit with an abrupt fade to black.

Anti-Climatic-Ism 101: The 2007 NBA Finals

2007-06-07T16:29:00.000-04:00

So David Stern lands a marketing coup where there was almost none to land, by having “Bron-Bron” show up for his first NBA Finals. That’s the upside to what will no doubt be the least competitive NBA Finals since the days of the Kidd and Kenyon Nets stanking things up or those miracle Iverson 76ers mistakenly showed up and actually managed to steal a game. That 76er team is probably the most apt comparison to the current Cavs, with the one superstar leading a bunch of slobs who play physical defense: there’s even some continuity with the one holdover (Eric Snow, now spot minute substitute former AI sidekick). But like that Philly squad, Cleveland is painfully overmatched against the current Western Conference Power de jour. Forget that dismal route through the Eastern Conference culminating with the burying of a Detroit team that made all of us who wanted a competitive Finals look like assholes by showing an indifference towards winning usually only reserved for Vince Carter during the middle of the regular season. The odds of an entertaining Finals in ’07 are overshadowed by the looming probability that San Antonio will absolutely dismantle a flawed Cleveland team with mind numbing efficiency, quickly dissolving the ‘legend of Boobie’ and prompting the return of those ‘Witness’ posters back into deep storage.

The Spurs are without peer when it comes to gametime execution, and since the roster discrepancies and player experience levels are significant, I won’t even get into a positional comparison or nothing like that. Just signs of the more favourable scenarios for either squad. Trust me, you are more likely to see some of these than others: if you can be bothered to stay awake during the games, of course.

Things are going well for the Spurs when: Ginobili is on his way to 20+ points, becoming the third of the trio. It’s already assumed that Duncan and Parker will be getting theirs.

The Spurs are on their way to administering a serious beatdown when: Argentinean playboy/power forward Fabricio Oberto starts getting those offensive rebounds and randomly scoring. Mostly on those back cuts with Timmy providing the high post feed. Yup. That’s when ya lost…

Things are going well for the Cavs when: Boobie and Gooden are making their open (or not so open) looks and the game is close enough for LeBron to utilize his superhuman powers down the stretch, without being forced into his super-ordinary perimeter game (notice there's a lot of if's in this scenario...).

Best case scenario for the Cavs: Duncan, Parker and Ginobili are all on the verge of fouling out when Popovich receives his second technical and is about to be escorted off the court by those always vex-looking security guys. This would preferably being happening in the first half...you know, just to be sure.

Even Cleveland’s strength, its team defense, will be held to the fire with what will be some potentially messy match-ups. Who guards Duncan? Who guards Parker? Do you give LeBron a rest on defense or do you make him guard somebody? The problem with these questions is that they are answered by coaching adjustments. Mike Brown has had some slip ups here and there, but generally has accounted well for himself during the Cavs’ Playoff run. However, he is opposing the best coach in the League; a tactical mastermind who’s had ample time to prepare for a glorified ‘one-trick’ pony team (disrespect intended, Larry). It all adds up to a potentially ugly series…and you can thank the Pistons.

Cleveland is finally going to get a lesson in Playoff basketball: a sweep is definitely not out of the question, but I see this playing out like the Spurs-Jazz series, with the Cavs stealing one at home. Yes, I said stealing one at home…

Like most basketball fans, I was hoping for the most competitive series possible given the circumstances. That is, until I put two bills on San Antonio to clean things up in less than 6 games. Now, I welcome the miserable and I invite the barely watchable. For once, I will profit off the suffering of others: sorry Cleveland and random LeBron groupies (cough…Justin…cough) - it’s just business.

Wow. Why do I suddenly feel like corporate America…I really need to take a shower.

The Return of A and B Music Reviews

2007-06-04T13:06:00.000-04:00

It’s been a minute, but we’re back with the A and B music reviews. However, this time around we’ve solicited the opinion of Mr. C, the resident R&B expert who has put the breaks on his soccer career and relocated out to California. While being a lover of all types of music, Mr. C has an unmatched pedigree when it comes to knowledge of contemporary Rhythm and Blues: there is not a Troop, Tevin Campbell or Horace Brown song that he can’t warble off key while correlating it to the female he was with at the time and the pertinent event in the relationship that the song is associated with. Trust, it was only a matter of time before Dotrunnings asked him to contribute to this segment. As for the fans of Mr. B, don’t worry, you’ll see him back at the helm sooner than later. And management promises to work half-heartedly at squashing any potential beef between reviewers.
So on with the current show, as we have targeted a couple of R&B songs and a few hip hop songs (plus one ‘interlude’) that have all been recently released for the summer. And now they're colour co-ordinated: take it away, fellas.

Keyshia Cole feat. Lil Kim and Missy – Let it Go
http://www.zshare.net/audio/2140849e128a53/

Mr. A: This is her new buzz single doing the whole ‘Juicy’ interpolation. I don't know about Missy reprising her sexed-up hype woman thing. Did they really need her on this?

Mr. C: Here we go again, another chick anthem.

Mr. A: Chick anthem, I guess that's Missy. She like women...who like women...who like women...

Mr. C: Lol. Honestly, I was not feeling this in the least. I'm usually okay with Keisha too, but wow, not here. I mean, it will get played in the club, and the 14 year old chicks will love it.

Mr. A: I'm with you, tho. There's nothing particularly interesting about this, and the 14 year old girls won't even get the Juicy theme...

Mr. C: It’s sad. But my question to you is this: Do you think that Mr. and Mrs. Becks knew that their son from Leytonstone, England would ever get in an R&B song?

Mr. A: I know...I know....Lil’ Kim and her ghostwriter: always on point with the pop culture.

Mr. C: She actually said, "Kick em' all straight to the curb like Beckham." Wow. And did I not tell you that he would get called back to the England team? You really need to start listening to me more.

Mr. A: So now Lil’ Kim's up on his England status? Did she hear about Aaron Lennon's injury too? If Lennon is healthy, Beckham will not play, bottom line. The England press is already trashing the MLS for its inferior quality of soccer and they sure as hell don't want to see an England national playing there.

Mr. C: It doesn’t matter: he has been the most dominant player at Real, as of late. (Mr. A shakes his head with dismay at the bold yet pointlessly groundless nature of the previous statement) I'm actually rooting for him.

Editor’s note: Beckham ends up setting up England’s only goal during a 1-1 draw in last Friday’s Friendly with Brazil. Mr. C is all about vindication.

Mr. A: Well, this sums up my feeling about the song: it makes me want to start thinking about something else...anything else.

Mr. C: I agree. Can we move on? Please!

Mr. A: Yes...but I'll say this one last thing about Keyshia: she's gotta be up there as far as artists who benefit from studio “enhancing’’ - and that's saying a lot.

Mr. C: Yeah, that is saying A LOT!

Lauryn Hill – Loose Myself:
http://www.zshare.net/audio/2140828e216b52/

A: Another unattached single that has popped up featuring L Boogie speaking on her obsession of past minute...the other side of love. Somebody needs to give this woman several year's worth of hugs...

C: Sounds like old Stevie meets Jackson 5 to me. It’s different for Lauryn Hill, but fuck, she finally seems somewhat happy. I like it though.

A: I think this has that 80's rock sound going for it, with the heavy guitar and all. But you’re absolutely right, at least there's some promise of redemption here. Sounds like she's finally getting back on her feet and moving away from those depressing acoustic numbers.

C: Exactly, I was waiting for something really tragic, but she managed to steer away from it. I liked it. It didn't blow me away, but I can see it really growing on me.

A: So who do you think she's speaking on...Wyclef, still, or the Marley dem?

C: Wow, for her sake, I hope it's that Marley Cat.

A: Yeah, but at least Wyclef was good for something. This ain't no ‘Miseducation’ or 'Score' Lauryn...but it's a move in the right direction. And, it's thumbs up for marriage: “lose myself to get better”. Married folks take heart - L Boogie says you going to be alright! Lord knows it’s been tough on her.

Kanye West - Can’t Tell Me Nothing:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/blx1s1

A: this is either the buzz single or first single from his next installment, Good Ass Job, or whatever comes after College Dropout…

C: Repay Loans.

A: OSAP blues.

C: “Procrastinate for years/ trying to figure out what you really want to do in life…" S’up L.

A: WOW. Calling out Mr. B? Beef really doesn’t come with a radio edit.

C: Haha, I'm playing. He came through. (Ed: with questionable sincerity) L is the man!

A: Personal biz, aside: I think this is an interesting choice for back on the scene music. It’s the return of introspective Kanye!

C: I wasn't crazy about this. It was typical Kanye, but not his best stuff. My sources tell me the instrumental was from a Thom Yorke (Radiohead) beat.

A: You know Kanye couldn’t stay away from his sampler…Really tho; I'm glad he didn't come out with something jig for the clubs or whatever...it could be a lot worse. I still get the shakes from that flammable single he did with Pharrell. I can almost accept this song on that principle alone.

C: Yeah, I'm okay with this. It has a "grow on me" potential. But that ‘Number 1’ joint was wrong. Shoulda never have happened. In general, I like Kanye. A lot more than I'd like. I think he is mad talented.

A: I was gonna look at reviewing the remix with Jeezy, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it...

C: Way to restrain yourself.

A: Thanks. Self control wins. Everytime.

C: It really does. Kids take note.

A: As a lyricist, Kanye's able to put that unabashedly materialistic, all-everybody crew, “This is why I'm hot” stuff out there, yet still be self-effacing about it. He tempers his jackassed-ness with perspective and honesty. All you rapper kids can take note of that. Regardless of what Beanie Sigel says about his fashion decisions.

C: Kanye is nice. I think he will be around for a long time: his shit is kinda timeless. God knows his samples are.

A: Yeah, he got that good taste.

C: Haha, he really does.

A: A passing grade for the new Kanye. No stars and shit, but some upside.

Fabolous feat. Jay-Z and Uncle Murda – Brooklyn:
http://www.zshare.net/audio/2140884b1587d1/

A: We might be some controversy here...

C: I know what this is going to be by the way you set it up.

A: Hold on son, let me get the DJ Clue sound effects...”NEW SHIT...NEW SHIT....new shit....”

C: HAHA

A: “F-A-B-O....JIGGA...Jigga...igga…” And Shawn’s new signing, some dude named Uncle Murda (cough)…natch. It's the anthem...”BROOK-LYYYYYYYYYN!“

C: So let’s feud.

A: I’ll go as far to say, they almost got this right. Because I'm not mad at the track...Biggie sample...moog organ... they even used the Big Beat - 99 Problems and such...

C: Ok, wow. Are we actually going to agree here?

A: But the shout out? It sounds like they need more people. That's the weakest 'Brooklyn’ I ever heard: it’s like folks in Scarborough do it better. They really need to…

C: ANTE UP!! Lol.

A: They shoulda got MOP for this!

C: “Spread love the Brooklyn way/ B how’s it feel?/ I’m on my Robin Thicke shyt/ Shyt eva gets thick/ back to robbin’ n@ggas quick/…..trick…click…ante up.” Listen, Jay did it. He has not fallen off. He should just stay away from the Beyonce duets (Ed: Don't forget his sidepiece, Rihanna).

A: I really think Jay got a Def Jam intern to write his verse. Seriously. That Robin Thicke line....that was fire? It’s a good line: for an intern. Shawn sounds he doesn't even care anymore. He was probably in Monaco or something and thought: 'Maybe I should throw one of my rap artists a verse...' It’s a marketing strategy now.

C: Fuck it. I was desensitized by the time I got to this track! Lil’ Kim said: "Kick him to the curb like Beckham" This was genius compared to that!

A: So you're comparing Lil’ Kim to Jay? Jay used to write the best stuff Lil’ Kim ever said. Oh wait, the second best stuff - after B.I.G. And you know Biggie woulda killed this if he were around...

C: I'm not comparing, I'm just saying. I miss B.I.G.! But Jay has this cadence. He can say whatever and sound nice.

A: He just sounds like he's given up. Even his flow was like, meh.

C: Well, there you go. This is why you’re the Hip-Hop head, and I'm the R&B dude. Excuse me while I go play “10 Crack Commandments” now.

A: What, no Reasonable Doubt? Blueprint?(sighs)Black Album?

C: On second thought, I'm going to play some Jodeci, Fuck all of you!

A: HAHA! Wow. And there you have it. That's the only reason you were gased on that Robin Thicke line: he shouted out your boy!

C: Lol. Yes he did. And Fab was ok on this, I'm alright with Fab.

A: I was gonna say. You can't blame Fab on this one: Fab did F-A-B-O. Still, it amazes me how he can keep coming up with those cute little retarded lines. Just when you think he's all outta foolishness and he says stuff like: "Phantom opens up like two door fridges..." Wow. He missed his chance to rhyme it with Todd Bridges, tho...

C: LOL. He’s no JAY. And Rooney ain’t Ronaldo, but they can play on the same pitch.

A: I guess there’s no point bringing up that Uncle Murda dude. (Ed: Uncle Murda = Alan Smith in aforementioned Man U analogy?) But I’ll say this about him: at least it sounded like he tried. So we done here. In my opinion, it was a lost opportunity. There still is potential for a massive remix, I can think of a couple Brooklyn emcees that could make that happen. Plus, it’ll give Shawn another shot to do this justice...

C: Fine. But I guarantee you, the masses will be quite okay with his verse.

A: Masses = Jay-Z stans. For Fab, it is what it is. His joint with Ne-Yo is burning up NYC anyways...

C: Speaking of which, Ne-Yo is the truth. He really is. Dude is mad talented.

A: NEXT SONG!

Remy Ma – Phone Sex Message:
http://www.zshare.net/audio/21408385765306/

A: Ok, really quick…

C: WOW. Anyone who knows me, knows how I feel about this. Nuff said.

A: I'm just saying….it sounds like it could be an exchange up in Rikers. There's a lot of husk to that voice, still.

C: I just want to know if Fat Joe wrote that for her, or she came up with it herself?

A: Haha, you know Fat Joe hasn’t written anything since ‘Flow Joe’. Big Pun was writing for both of them. Honey was messing with your boy Juelz SAN-TAN-A. Maybe he felt safe in her arms...

C: Alright, fuck this. Let’s get to that next song.

Lil’ Mama – Lip Gloss:
http://www.zshare.net/audio/2140863d2c42e8/

A: Have at it, Cali representor.

C: Really, man. That song, I got some strong views on that shit. Ok, here it goes: this will be a banger. It will be something that will get love in the club - cut up this shit into ‘Tipsy’ and let the Patron flow. I hate to admit it but when I’m buzzed; this may actually be a guilty pleasure. I feel like I need to listen to some Stevie now to regain my senses. I feel like…I got tricked into feeling this. WOW. I’m so disappointed in myself! It's the beat, it’s so…simple.

A: Yeah. The hand claps are catchy. I had this stuck in my head for 3 days last week.

C: It’s fucked, right?

A: I didn't know whether I wanted to get down or choke myself out. But as the days got longer, I was leaning to the latter.

C: “Errr-body in the club get TIPSY!!!”

A: Yeah...Grinding...Tipsy. And now…Lip Gloss. Cuz, it’s poppin’!!?

C: I’m saying! After about 6 shots, if a DJ were to blend this into something without me realizing, I WILL WALK IT OUT!

A: I have to smile because she almost sounds like she's trying to spit. If only Shawn could muster that sort of energy...

C: Lol.

A: Broooooook-lyyyyyyyn. Brooooooooook- lyyyyyyyn.

C: HAHA. Whatever.

A: So basically you're saying you like the track. Are you saying you think you could win up in the club with this?

C: I'm saying, "I did not have sexual relations with Ms. Lewinsky!"

A: Wow. This is why I holla at Mr. C. He puts honesty above all else!

C: HAHA!

A: So again, what you're saying is, that off the record...the joint is -

C: YES, OFF THE RECORD!

A: The joint isssssssss...

C: I AM OKAY WITH IT ;)

A: But is it…POPPIN’? Say it!!!

C: Dude, I live in West Hollywood. I refuse to answer that question.

A: Saaaaaaaay it…

C: Lol, is she cute?

A: Yeah...for American standards. Meaning she light-skinned, big eyes with the coloured-contacts. Accessorized to win with the current beauty standards enforced by the media.

C: OK, I’ll say this: I wouldn’t go as far as saying it’s POPPIN’, but it does crackle.

A: Go figure. Seeing as we’ve already gone through the snappin’ phase…

C: And that’s a wrap!

A: Yes it is. And you love Lil’ Mama!!! If only Jay could get on that remix! Then it’d be even mo’ POPPIN’!!!

C: Haha. Fool. Besides, you know I love your mama.

A: Damn, why’d it have to be like this? That’s messed up. I hope security violently kicks you out the club just as you trying to walk it out while niced up off Patron and they end up scuffing up your brand new kicks. All while they playing this song!

When Self-Preservation Actually Serves a Common Good

2007-06-01T12:59:00.000-04:00

Laker fans now have a reason to love their Kobe even more. Despite all the Kobe-related drama that has occurred over the last 48 hours or so, there is very little doubt over whether ‘Three Times 8’ will be wearing the Purple and Gold until at least the year of his contract option (which happens to be in 2009-10, and John Salley, for one, has already publicly opined that is when you will see Kobe in a Knick jersey).

Kobe’s initial shocking declaration of the state of Laker affairs and subsequent demanding of a trade as prodded by Screamin’ A. Smith has been summarily recanted. But this was a great play by the super (duper) star of a stagnant organization to try and motivate a bewildered front office into making some moves that will improve the team in the immediate future. Granted, the roster is an absolute mess, but by creating some urgency, Kobe has at least put into the public forum the idea of accountability for those that created said mess. Because if things continued on as they were, the Lakers could foreseeable be marred in a vicious cycle of never making it past the first round or even watch some Conference foes slide by them, leaving them with bad odds in the lottery: this all during Kobe’s prime years.

This more brave than selfless act was primarily motivated by Kobe growing weary of letting his best years go by with a supporting cast that could be described charitably as “less than good.” But if this wasn’t all about the team, what else could possibly be going on?

Try a bizarre power struggle amongst the Laker brass, with the key players being principle owner, known DUI offender and trophy female collector Jerry Buss; his two seeds/top execs Jim and Jeannie; billionaire minority owner and Staples Centre builder Phil Anschutz; beleaguered current GM Mitch Kupchak and, of course, the shadiest practitioner of Zen philosophies on the planet, Phil Jackson. Just to add to the flammable nature of potential alliances within this already volatile mix: Phil Jackson is sleeping with someone from this group. And I’m not going to say who it is…

So from what I could gather from the facts and gossip surrounding this most recent bizarre week in LA, the shortest version of the story begins and ends with the fact that Jerry Buss is taking a step back from his current exalted position of head of everything. This leaves the offspring (yes…Jerry’s kids) battling it out to fill the void in power, an apparently poor fit for screw up-in-waiting Jim. However, it is Jim who fancies himself a basketball man (often to the detriment of lame duck GM Kupchak), acting as the prime culprit to hamstring any potential moves over the past couple of years so as to protect the development of his first real personnel decision; the acquisition of one, Andrew Bynum. There is a strong current of thought within the organization that Jerry’s son is an unwanted meddler in basketball operations, but manages to enjoy the endorsement of his father, making Jim a fixture as an annoyance: both father and son may enjoy the idea of steadily rebuilding the once proud franchise over time.

Much to the chagrin of one Phil Jackson, whose preference for refining the games of all-stars leaves him with little desire to coach, never mind teaching young, developing, mistake-prone players. The Jackson/Jeannie Buss camp features a consolidated front, where ideally, Phil takes over all things basketball and Jeannie partners with Anschutz to run the business end. Any power grab would have to involve the manipulation of the Lakers most important on-court asset.

And it all starts with the “Insider” leak reported in the L.A. press Tuesday (see the bottom of page 1 - that's what set Kobe off), in which an anonymous high ranking official stated irrefutably that it was Kobe’s fault Shaq was let go way back when, dragging up, for brevity’s sake, old shit. This was the final straw for an already vex Kobe who is still stinging from having to wake up knowing who comprises the rest of the Laker roster. An irate Byrant immediately fires back through the press, lashing out at herb Kupchak for not providing him with better team mates and actually goes on to list the players he personally spoke with that wanted to don the Purple and Gold (Baron, Boozer, Ron-Ron and most recently, Playoff triple-double machine Jason Kidd) but management was too scared/incapable of following through on. There was a notable fixation on bringing back Jerry West before the bombs were dropped then retracted, trigging the now current state of organization-wide damage control.

It must be acknowledged that Kobe and Phil want the same thing here – an upgraded roster at all costs. Phil is reported as being the apparent calming voice of reason that brought Kobe back from the edge. But the roasting of Kupchak only serves to magnify the potential for public scrutiny and thereby increasing the pressure towards upper management to let him go, a move necessary for Phil to control the basketball side of things. The impending roster changes that Kobe’s outburst will certainly provoke (there are already rumours of trades for the Lakers to acquire either Kidd or Jermaine O’Neal) will be facilitated by using the most tradable asset on the current roster: one, Andrew Bynum. This move has the added benefit of marginalizing Jim Buss within the organization: thus allowing the Zenmaster to move forward on two fronts. For the record, there are some people in L.A. who believe they know the identity of the now infamous ‘Insider’. And they don’t call him a ‘master of mind games’ for nothing.

But before I portray the most talented player in the NBA as merely a pawn in Jackson’s manipulative game of chess, Kobe clearly has some moves of his own to make here. Firstly, an immediate Kobe showdown between him and virtually anybody under the Laker flag would be a prohibitive win for “3 x ‘Eight’” (Phil included…although you know he’d resign before he could get fired) – that’s how much he means out in Laker land. And don’t think he brought up Jerry West by accident: West is not only the one man both Kobe AND Shaq admitted to as being the only person they could trust in the Laker organization when he was around, but he is also one of the few basketball people anywhere who has the clout and capacity to stand up to the Zen manipulator. ‘The Logo’ would be Kobe’s GM. And finally 2009-10: the season Kobe can opt out of his L.A. story – and the Lakers could absolutely not afford to let him go without getting something in return. Son has options. Oh and one last thing: Kobe has told the press he also knows the identity of the muck-raking ‘Insider’, while in his next breath stating that he trusts Phil. Now, it’s one thing to do the whole ‘keep your enemies close’ thing, but at this point, it’s amazing anybody can play for this dude without flat out pulling a Sprewell.

All in all, the Lakers might look half-decent next year, with a possibility of putting out a starting line-up that features Jermaine O’Neal and Crazy Ron-Ron as bookends for Kobe. The current turbulance was a far from unpredictable (I guess that's why they call him Jesus) and the organization is anything but in the clear, as major issues have been raised by what some may see as a spoiled athlete’s insubordination. Clearly, any view of Kobe as a malcontent is an extremely superficial one: Kobe, Phil and Laker fans all share the same priority – they just might not be all in it for the same reasons.

To end this almost Shakespearean saga, I thought it would be interesting to throw out a personal trade prospect – although, as I said earlier, it would be an absolute shock if Kobe leaves L.A. now. I also know the average NBA fan does not share in my evaluation of the worth of Raptor talent (my biases have been documented during the first round of the Playoffs…clearly the Raps have some more winning to do before being viewed as a universally acknowledged contender). Any trade for Kobe would have to feature two immediate elements: there has to be enough talent offered for the Lakers to bite and there has to be enough talent left over to appease Kobe’s desire to be on a contending team. This appreciably narrows down the number of realistic, potential trade partners for any Kobe trade scenario.

"How much is that Ko-beee in the window?...Whaddya mean he's not for sale anymore?"

But here goes: Kobe for TJ Ford, Andrea Bargnani, a signed MoPete and any other filler to make the contracts match. The offer is clearly meant to target L.A.’s nagging deficiency at point guard, while providing a great prospect and some compensatory scoring. On the flip-side, that would give Toronto a stretch-run line up of Calderon, Anthony Parker, Kobe, Bosh and Garbajosa. Sure we’d be a little thin and it’s a stated fact that Colangelo views the salary cap tax like gold-diggas view broke dudes riding the bus. However, I maintain that line-up would make us instant contenders in the East, plus be virtually fool proof for Sam to coach. Given the current state of the Cleveland-Detroit exercise in ugliness and limited play (Lebron excluded...I mean, 25 straight points!!! On DETROIT!!?) – I would really like that roster’s chances of wrecking serious havoc in the Eastern Conference. Unlike the current drama unfolding, this wishful roster maneuvering would be a spectacle that is clearly not meant to be.

A Musical List: Top Twelve Callings Out of A Bum Chick

2007-05-30T14:34:00.000-04:00

While this Cleveland-Detroit series has me twisted for all the wrong reasons like the new Lil’ Wayne joint (for the record, I’m talking about “Prostitute Flange” ) – I’m thinking of phrases like “utterly lack-luster and forgettable” and “scared for the future, now”; it’s time to distance myself from the Playoffs for a moment. So in light of the current relationship between Kobe and Laker management (AKA those incompetent pricks who don’t want to win now - this is heating up fast and will have to be discussed inevitably), I bring you a list of the top lyrical tounge lashings of the enemy of everything that is testosterone and all wifeys as well: the bum chick.

Unfortunately, due to the lack of subtly of many of its lyricist, hip hop has often been mired in the perpetuation of mindless misogyny which could be interpreted as serious hating on the fairer sex. However, this reputation clouds those artists who truly have something legitimate to say about the unsavory females out there who have impacted them. Although it may be difficult to objectively call them out, every man has had his dealings with a bum chick on some level in his life. And they deserve the infamy which follows them like a dark cloud. So I present to you, the Dotrunnings top 12 songs (completely downloadable) which call out the shadiest of the shady…the infamous bum chick.

12. Jeru the Damaja – Da Bitchez: It’s the anthem of sorts (the less misogynistic one, anyways), clarifying which women get love and who gets dissed. Just don’t jump to conclusions ladies, he might not be talking about you. Really.
http://www.zshare.net/audio/2078592aec0a2a/

11. Diamond D – Sally’s Got a One Track Mind: Ah, the most celebrated bum chick of them all – the gold digga. Diamond puts Sally on blast, and then tells her there’s no future to her fronting, so she might as well just “wake up and smell the blunts.” Preach.
http://www.zshare.net/audio/20785862c05e04/

10. The Roots – You Ain’t Fly: The legendary Roots crew air out their grievances with various faisty bum chicks that have crossed their respective paths. Leave it to QuestLove to be on that ‘nice guys finish last’ tip and get all mushy over his unreceptive honey.
http://www.zshare.net/audio/20786689024cf2/

9. Nice and Smooth – Sometimes I Rhyme Slow (Smooth B Verse): Smooth goes over his dealings with the most treacherous of all the bum chicks: the basehead. And it’s stressful: “Maybe I should lick her with my nine milli-me-ter.” But Smooth knows bum chicks ain’t worth the homicide bid.
http://www.zshare.net/audio/2078554e962d50/

8. Public Enemy – She Watch Channel Zero: PE brings out the heavy guitars to lecture the bum chick addicted to the suspended reality offered by her remote. And the irony of Flav lecturing anybody of the perils of garbage TV is a sad reminder of what was and what now is.
http://www.zshare.net/audio/2078546f7d4112/

7. MF Doom as Madvillian – Fancy Clown: Doom, everybody’s favourite schizophrenic emcee, goes hard on his not exactly bum chick for cheating on him…with his alternate personality as a hilarious tirade ensues (but, really, what do expect when your mom’s a ho?) Madlib flips the ZZ Hill sample lovely as the backdrop for this adventure.
http://www.zshare.net/audio/2078530d3168a3/

6. Slick Rick – Treat Her Like A Prostitute: The original storyteller, MC Ricky D let’s all men know what time it is when it comes to revealing all females’ inner-bum chick. True science is dropped, just don’t let those jaded impulses get the better of his advice; like he says, “Don’t treat no girlie well until you’re sure of the scoop.”
http://www.zshare.net/audio/2078529d23ae5e/

5. EPMD – Play the Next Man: It’s like the album title says, business never personal. Shady bum chicks ain’t suitable to bonifide, especially if they “hanging tough like New Kids, every damn weekend” or sleeping with they boss. Cut her off, cut her off!
http://www.zshare.net/audio/20784156a82562/

4. Gang Starr – Ex Girl to Next Girl: Take a stroll with Guru for a very personal and candid description of his personal dealings with the various bum chicks he’s come across. A celebration of focused testosterone. Cuz the girls look sooooooo good.
http://www.zshare.net/audio/2078408b946dff/

3. Ghostface Killah feat. Amy Winehouse – You Know I'm No Good: I’ve said it before, but nobody calls out the bum chick quite like Pretty Tony; he wins on passion, alone. There were several potential choices from his catalogue, but I chose this take on the Amy Winehouse single, which Ghost absolutely murders with an almost cinematic virtuosity. Debating the pro and cons of wifing the bum chick, truth is spoken during the reconciliation in the form of a warning shot; “I can forgive the past but I’ll never forget it.” Tony, you crazy for this one…
http://www.zshare.net/audio/2078653cedd612/

1.(tie) Brand Nubian – Slow Down: A hip hop classic, in which the Nubians take turns calling out a trifecta of bum chicks (crackhead, gold digga and the omnipresent ho). “What makes a trick wanna act in this fashion?” Indeed.
http://www.zshare.net/audio/2078406f488197/

1.(tie) Main Source – Looking at the Front Door: Large Pro kills this lyrically and the instrumental is a classic; one of the vinyl singles I just couldn’t part with. Nuff said. Ultimate dressing down of a soon-to-be ex boo. I’ve actually told a girl during a heated argument that she treated me “like a burnt piece of bacon.” One of the few instances of melodramatic overkill I’ve allowed myself in life, but the look on her face afterwards made that call well worth it.

http://www.zshare.net/audio/2078359afcbb60/

When Adversity Comes in the Form of a Flopping Ginobili

2007-05-29T12:59:00.000-04:00

It’s a tough little aftermath for Utah post Game 4: but it’s just a fact of life that the waves of sympathetic press will always be centred around whether Lebron is getting his fair share of calls, leaving virtually nothing for what was an industrious Jazz squad. I use the past tense, because as of last night, the Western Conference series is over. You had a great run Utah and this is the first time in the history of the sport I can this, but I’ll be sad to see a Jazz team go (Deron Williams, salute!)…

However, (overworked cliches, aside) the Playoffs is basketball's war of attrition. The unwritten rules go like this:

It doesn’t matter if you are getting absolutely hosed by the refs…on your home court, even. Reminded me of a quote from another message board: "I knew it was going to be a bad night for somebody when I saw two refs with greasy heads."
It doesn’t matter that your opponents will get an ungodly 25-2 free throw advantage in the fourth quarter, including what should be a record number of fouls called in the act of shooting a perimeter jumper and, just to rub it in, the refs allow offensive goaltending for the other team’s foreigners
After enduring a most recent game with foul trouble, it doesn’t matter that Tim Duncan will never, ever get a foul called against him this time around - regardless how many times poor Paul Millsap lays prone on the ground
And it really doesn’t seem to matter that Manu will get away with push offs, clearing-out albows and, most bizarrely, consistently indulged by the referees for only what can be considered “court theater” (how could they do that to Fish (yeah...he's 'Fish' now)...don't they remember the story about his infant daughter?)

"Ok...uh, son...you standing up now. They gave the other team three techs, already - Fin hit all of them...you hear that, son? Cuz...ummm, we kinda need the ball...so, uh...we can start playing again...son...you still with me, son!!?"

As a team, your players absolutely have to hit wide open jumpers down the stretch when you are only behind by 2 to 3 possessions’ worth of points. Especially on your home court. That’s it.

When you play the Spurs, you know it’s going to be a mental test more than anything else. It will never be pretty. The only hope for a truly competitive Final is for Detroit to man up and start playing at a high level. At the very least, you figure the Pistons will get some respect from the refs, because it’s odd witnessing this bizarre transition from special officiating treatment for the superstar to the breaks being given to the better or more established team. It’s as if that team’s track record for getting the job done or a specific player’s contextualized reputation (Bowen: supreme team defender) warrants calls or the occasional strategic no-call: so to that end, the Pistons better really step their game up, because perception appears to be an invaluable means.

I don’t think it would be out of pocket to say it seems like a whole nation of basketball fans desire the vanquishing of this precision-oriented, foul tactic using, whiney robotic-superstar led scourge that the Spurs have become. Short of anointing San Antonio as the NBA’s version of the old school Raiders (the matching colour schemes seems almost apropos), we’ll just leave it at the bad guys really do wear black.

Sign O’ the NBA Times – Championship Teams That Win Games by Making Their Opponents Lose and the Perils of That Strategy

2007-05-28T15:24:00.000-04:00

There was a time when the best teams in the NBA proved their worth by being the proverbial unstoppable (or unstoppa-‘Bull’, as it were) team: the “you bring your ‘A’ game, and we’ll trump you with ours” type of championship team. Teams that could sustain the best effort their opponents had in them and still manage to come out on top: mostly due to the play and leadership of the enviable combination of superstars found on that dominant team’s roster. Teams like the old 80’s Celtics. Their fast-breaking Showtime Laker rivals. The Bulls Dynasty. Even the Kobe and Shaq (or Shaq and Kobe) Lakers. Aside from that brief Piston run (and don’t get it twisted, because there was a lot of seminal talent on that roster, too), this is how the NBA was run, and Stern basked in its marketability.

Wow...check out all the collective Hall of Famers...and for the, uh, white guys...future GM's.

But with the advent of salary cap, parody gradually began to steer things in a different direction. No longer could that powerhouse squad plug a hole in their frontline with a former number 1 overall pick (google Thompson, Mycheal) or readily accept the ‘luck’ of the draw by snapping up that franchise-saving generational player (ask Celtic fans about how that Duncan lottery turned out). Teams began to acquire a strong three-player base and then pad them with the sort of role players that would help you win games. But how were these games to be won? Why don’t we look at the two favourites of the Conference Finals series to answer that question…

These days, three's company for a championship...better step up, Manu. Then maybe Timmy will give back your nose too.

Much to the chagrin of those who desire the sort of telegenetic basketball our ancestors were privy too, in 2007 we are watching teams that absolutely make the game hell for their opponents. Force them to shoot under 40% from the floor…make that under 20% from three. Keep them under 90 points…howabout 80? Force their superstar to give up the ball and make their role players beat us. Sound familiar? Using boarderline dirty tactics to get in the head of your opponents? Why not! Yes, ‘Lowest Common Denominator Ball’ has become an art for championship-caliber teams and with a master like Gregg Popovich pulling the strings in the Playoffs, it has proven to be deadly in an extended series.

And they said I was effective at being...disruptive.

But as the past weekend showed, this strategy is designed to win wars, not battles. Lebron and the other guys managed to shoot just north of 49% from the floor to shrug off the Piston-induced slowed down pace to take Game 3. I still find the intensity of the Lebron media scrutiny mind-boggling – where questioning whether or not to pass to a wide open teammate becomes a headlining issue, but the 10 point performance that got his team there is barely worth the mention? And the polarizing response to a no-call on 'the King' from the same group that roundly criticized the NBA for the sort of referee pandering to (certain) superstars that ruined last year’s Finals? Double and triple standards (like those double and triple teams) be damned, for the cameras and professional scribes, the story is all Lebron, all the time. But in the real world, it’s about how those other guys in Cavs’ uniforms perform and forcing Drew Gooden and Daniel Gibson to step up and make shots down the stretch sounds more like a strategy to frustrate LBJ into leaving Cleveland as a free agent than one that will win a conference finals series. And somewhere, Shawn Carter doesn't even need to see Rihanna's album sales to crack a smile...

Utah managed to deliver an unconditional ass-whupping Saturday, and while I have more faith in the competitiveness of this series, I have serious reservations about the Jazz winning in San Antonio. To expect Duncan to get into foul trouble regularly is an extreme reach, but if the Jazz can harass Ginobili into shooting poorly on a given night, they may have a chance to steal one away from home; as long as their own supporting players show up as well. But you know Popovich has a plan for them, anyways.

That’s the beauty of this style of play for the purveyor; by turning every game into an excruciating mental exercise, you maximize your opposition’s chances of failure. Especially when you target the other team's weaker links.

Both Detroit and San Antonio take away their opponents options better than any other team in the League: the Pistons may have more depth, but if these Playoffs have proved anything, it’s that the Spurs have the best coach in the NBA. These two teams are destined to collide in the Finals, and just like in 2005, it won’t be pretty. Expect a series chock full of great defensive rotations, role players deciding games with their timely perimeter shooting and home courts to be hotly contested, yet ultimately defended. Least Common Denominator Ball at its finest…

$5 says that Sheed gets a tech after they give Duncan the foul with the basket...

A Brief Reprieve with some Musical Content…

2007-05-16T14:00:00.000-04:00

I know, I know...it's been a busy week on the court, from Golden State gracefully bowing out to the Machiavellian brilliance of the one-sided outcome concerning the machinery behind judging the ramifications of Rob Horry's forearm 'shiver' (anything less than a Suns defeat in this series would be a surprise now...thanks again, David). It's almost too much to immediately digest, so for the moment...I give you the following list.

I guess it's a couple of weeks ago now, but I entered a list of the 'Top 25 Hip-hop Albums of All Time' arranged by noteworthy blogger in this area, to whose writing and content I'm partial to. So he and another dude put together the results, which included a follow-up breakdown of the data as well. It's some good stuff, although I personally found the results somewhat surprising, the inherent biases of the sample are addressed by the conductors of the poll in the post discussion. It's an interesting look still, and hopefully we'll see the results from a Top Singles poll sooner than later...

So here's the official Dot Runnings list, pretty much the most important hip hop I listened to and personally acquired, with the abject majority still lying around in tape form (whether purchased or dubbed or whatever else...) somewhere. However, due to the nature of the subject, I felt it necessary to divulge a longer list...so here's the Dot Runnings Top 70 (yes...70) Hip Hop Albums of All Time...suffice it to say, I thoroughly recommend each and every selection to the rap listener.

70. The Roots - Illadelph Halflife

69. Ultramagnetic MC's - Critical Beatdown

68. Jay-Z - Blueprint

67. Blahzay Blahzay - Blah Blah Blah

66. Fu-Schnickens - F.U. Don't Take It Personal

65. Slick Rick – The Great Adventures of Slick Rick

64. NWA – Straight Outta Compton

63. Jay-Z - Reasonable Doubt

62. Ice Cube –AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted

61. Tha Alkaholiks - Coast II Coast

60. Ghostface Killah – Ironman

59. Camp Lo – Uptown Saturday Night

58. Heltah Skeltah - Nocturnal

57. GZA – Liquid Swords

56. UMC’s – Fruits of Nature

55. Outkast –Aquemini

54. De La Soul – Buhloone Mind State

53. Leaders of the New School - Future Without A Past

52. O.C. – Word…Life

51. Cypress Hill- Cypress Hill

50. Ras Kass - Soul on Ice

49. Big L – Lifestylez ov da Poor and Dangerous

48. KMD – Mr. Hood

47. Little Brother – The Listening

46. EPMD – Business Never Personal

45. Method Man – Tical

44. De La Soul – De La Soul Is Dead

43. Kool G. Rap & DJ Polo – Wanted: Dead or Alive

42. X-Clan – To the East, Blackwards

41. Gang Starr – Moment of Truth

40. Cru – Da Dirty 30

39. Fugees – The Score

38. Goodie Mob – Soul Food

37. J-Live – The Best Part

36. Del the Funkee Homosapien - I Wish My Brother George Was Here

35. De La Soul – Stakes Is High

34. Black Star – Mos Def and Talib Kweli are…

33. Snoop – Doggystyle

32. Slum Village – Fantastic Vol. 2

31. Pharcyde – Bizarre Ride II

30. Organized Konfusion – Stress: The Extinction Agenda

29. Smif N Wessun – Da Shinin’

28. Souls of Mischief – ’93 Til Infinity

27. Beatnuts – Street Level

26. LL Cool J – Mama Says Knock You Out

25. Jeru the Damaja – The Sun Rises in the East

24. Gang Starr – Hard to Earn

23. Black Moon – Enta Da Stage

22. Diamond D – Stunts, Blunts and Hip-Hop

21. Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth – Mecca and the Soul Brother

20. Mos Def – Black on Both Sides

19. Brand Nubian – All For One

18. Redman – Whut Thee Album

17. Main Source – Breakin’ Atoms

16. The Roots – Do You Want More?

15. Mobb Deep – The Infamous

14. Common – Resurrection

13. Raekwon – Only Built 4 Cuban Linx

12. Black Sheep – A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing

11. Notorious B.I.G. – Ready to Die

10. Dr. Dre – the Chronic

9. De La Soul – 3 Feet High and Rising

8. ATCQ – Midnight Marauders

7. Big Daddy Kane – Long Live the Kane

6. Wu Tang Clan – Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers

5. Eric B and Rakim – Paid in Full

4. BDP – Criminal Minded

3. Public Enemy – It Takes a Nation of Millions…

2. Nas - Illmatic

1. ATCQ – Low End Theory

Now I know I may have made some egregious mis-steps with regards to the over-all protocol of what should be valued in the genre. I admit, there is a lot of subjectivity to the list, the two most obvious factors being timing and taste. Although the top 25 portion may have been more suited towards a larger scale view (i.e. Black Sheep got bumped out of the top 5 for the sake of 'perspective'...) , the list essentially encompasses my exposure to hip-hop and the history of it. By no means could hip hop ever be considered mainstream when I first became a listener (growing up in that era of commercial radio silence until House of Pain stumbled along), so whatever I got a hold that caught my ear inevitably made its impression. I will admit I have an unabashed East Coast bias…it’s what I like. Obviously, I was listening to more albums, per say, in my youth: although come would say it was because they were more listenable back then. And certain classic groups may have missed the mark because I wasn’t properly exposed at first (say... Run DMC), which may seem like a major failing, but I actually bumped all the albums on this list…so I can’t take it back. I think a top 100 list would cover most folks, anyways. Plus, these are albums: there are many artists who’s individual singles got wore out in the deck, so to speak, but I never really got into or just got a hold of their albums. The singles list would look considerably different.

So there it is, hate it or love it. Hopefully, at the very least, it will remind you of some good music.

More Must See TV Tonight...

2007-05-11T13:17:00.000-04:00

The Jazz-Warriors epic reups again, as Game 3 brings the series back to the Bay area tonight, with the most pressing plot line being how Utah reacts to the crazy sea of yellow that is the Golden State home court advantage. After those first two games in Salt Lake City, could there be any doubt as to which series is the most entertaining of the remaining four? Let's give credit where credit is due, for all the Warriors' visceral appeal (their style is basketball eye candy), this is not exactly your easy-to-villainize Malone-Stockton Jazz neither, folks...

Golden State clearly should have come away with at least one of the first two games. What makes this series even more compelling is how the Warriors seem to be thumbing their nose in the face of so much of what is considered to be basketball conventional wisdom. Despite not getting that all important result away from home, I truly believe that GS can compensate for the insane rebounding advantage the Jazz are destined to tally up each game (for the record Utah carried a 60-32 advantage and managed the same number of offensive rebounds, 19, as Golden St. had defensive ones). The difference in the first two games has been down the stretch where Deron Williams has been peerless in his decision-making, even in the face of a 36 point explosion from Baron Davis last night (who will have that performance sadly footnoted by the free throw he missed to ice the game). It’s unacceptable for GS to finish off games by throwing up errant, contested, off-balance 18-21 foot shots off their isolations: there are still workable match-ups for the Warriors at any given moment; they either have to find them or just get out of Baron’s way to the basket. At least the Whoo Jackson's ‘potential game-winning' 3 point miss from Game 1 was a wide open look – even the Warriors' makes down the stretch were of a high degree of difficulty.

But the Deron Williams lovefest continues; it was agreed upon amongst the group I was watching the game with that he could be realistically traded for D Wade. Seriously. We actually discussed it. Alright, the objectivity may have been somewhat blurred, especially during the 4th quarter, but one has to consider the fact he may have leap-frogged Chris Paul in the pecking order of point guards – given his youth, he makes a compelling argument for top 3.

But when speaking of Utah's current success, it bares mentioning the re-ermergence of Kirilenko. Granted, GS doesn't even make the most token of attempts to guard him away from the basket, but he's managed to be somewhat productive on the offensive end thus far, while providing an almost absurdly menacing defensive presence (13 blocks in 2 games!). And if we're going to mention intangibles, nothing takes precedence over what has become the Derek Fisher story. Due to my distaste for virtually all things Laker, I can honestly say I'm the farthest thing from a fan of Fisher (an oxy-moronic term to say the least, but I have a friend who has an oddly heterosexual admiration for Fish's physique...), but what he did Wednesday night considering the circumstances was nothing short of amazing (we talking about family here, so at the risk of over-sentimentality...best wishes to the Fishers and for their daughter's healthy recovery). The outcome was out of mortal hands, unfortunately for Nellie's gang, as Game 2 was just not meant to be for the Warriors...

Diesel Derek Fisher Player of Game 2?...Yup, it's fate.

Momentary sidebar about the broadcast crew: Reggie Miller is an idiot. How bad must an ex-ballplayer commentator be for you to catch of glimpse of his inner cheat on air? But during Gmae 2, ol’ Reg managed to go there by blasting the refs for correctly overturning a critical call in the 4^th (especially in light of the recent history of questionable playoff refereeing), in what had to be one of the most asinine rants I’ve ever heard an on-air personality make…and we live in the age of the Waltonian hyperbole. Dick Stockton seems a step a way from letting the play by play get away from him entirely, so combining the two is like a Bow Wow-Omarion duet in a venue devoid of little girls...

Speaking of media, Stern must be relishing the notion of a small-market final four. Maybe this is the season he gets to take his pro-active marketing hat off and sit back and enjoy the Playoffs like the rest of us. Right after that MVP trophy presentation to Dirk...

5 Reasons Why Utah, As Opposed to Dallas, Could Actually Beat Golden State in a 7 Game Series

2007-05-09T16:13:00.000-04:00

Thank God for the West. Last night, there was a reprieve of the Detroit batty-mashing of Chicago, (as the Brother Kwame would say, “Where else could you think of that would be the worst place to be f@cked?” Indeed.) so while waiting for the Suns-Spurs game to start, I observed this utter foolishness/forgettableness…

Is there really any reason for the comedically redundant bubbles?

Now that Phoenix and San Antonio are playing their own mini-championship, one would think it would take some sort of freak show to draw attention away from this battle of the titans. Enter those compelling Warriors, who appear to be locked in a barn-burner of a series with Utah. Present battle aside, Golden State still continues to radiate an aura that looms large from their first round defeat of the best-record-having Dallas Mavericks.

Now people have asked me two alternate questions during the Warriors ultra-exciting, frantic first round defeat of the Mavs; “How is this happening to last year’s almost champions?” and “Why is Dallas considered to be so good, anyways”, alluding to how exposed they became in the series despite their guady regular season record. Well, the short answer to the Dallas question is basically they are a very good up tempo team filled with generically skilled players (with one 7 foot scoring menace) that take advantage of beneficial one-on-one match-ups without having a natural post option. During the regular season, Dallas was impressive in its resourcefulness alone and, being a very difficult team to prepare for in the short term, it ultimately led to a lot of wins. Many teams in the Lig already match up poorly against the Mavs (i.e. San Antonio Spurs, the Miami Referees...) who further befuddled opponents by employing a gimmicky 'small' line-up to maximize playing time for their more skillful players, something they had become increasingly dependent upon due to its overwhelming success. Unfortunately for them, Dallas became entangled with a team that, thanks to some late season roster maneuvers, takes advantage of beneficial one-on-one match ups by going small and extremely skilled while playing at a tempo approaching light speed. As with most playoff series, each team’s dominant player was going to play a key role in determining the outcome. Baron Davis clearly elevated his play to a level his Dallas opposites could not keep up with; Dirk Nowitzki…not so much. Cue Mark Cuban screw face (and behind closed-doors, David Stern robotic smirk).

And a final parting shot...

Now Game 1 has come and gone from the improbable Utah-Golden State series. After being played at a ridiculous pace, Utah snuck out a 116-112 victory at home, already proving that, in theory, they have what it takes to overturn the freight train of momentum that is the Warriors. So how do the Jazz distinguish themselves and not succumb to the pitfalls of small ball that derailed the mighty Mavericks?

Over All Length – An typical front court match-up for this series looks like this: ‘Whoo’ Jackson-Boozer; Matt Barnes-Okur; not quite comrades Biedrins-Kirilenko. Golden State is giving up a lot of length and it showed on the boards: not only did the Jazz outrebound the Warriors 54-36 but almost had as many offensive rebounds as GS had defensive (22-20). Unlike Dallas, Utah is comparatively making the Warriors look like a college team on the inside with their undersized, frantic trapping of any Jazz big man who enters the key.
Post Play – True, Boozer struggled from the field in Game 1 with the active, ever-changing looks that Golden State threw at him. So he merely compensated his less than stellar shooting by grabbing 10 offensive rebounds. Golden State has to expend a lot of energy dealing with a legitimate low post threat: this will definitely become more of a factor as the series progresses.
Point Guard – Deron Williams, AKA the most popular beige man in Salt Lake City, came up with a Game 1 performance that was nothing less than heroic. It may be unreasonable to expect Williams to outplay Baron consistently, but his offensive presence and leadership at the point greatly contrasts that which was lacking on the Dallas roster (you think Dirk was missing Steve during the 1^st round this time around…). One important note concerning what Deron brings to the court: as the playground antics of the Warriors becomes more gully during the series, the importance of having a physically strong point will prove to be an invaluable necessity (ask anyone who has played in a heated streetball run…) . With all the one-on-one play and various forms of defensive pressure Golden State attempts to employ, having a ballhandler who is quick and strong will go a long way to withstanding the barrage and exposing the holes in such defenses.
A beige man with STRUNGTH! What you know about that?
Defense – It may seem odd to be bigging up the defensive play of a team that gave up 112 points. That being said, unlike Dallas, Utah was able to limit the successful Golden State forays to the basket, even forcing some turnovers down the stretch. While this was far from a total success, especially considering the extended moments of mayhem with their transition defense, Utah seems committed to keeping Golden State on the perimeter. Throw in the fact that Kirilenko managed 6 blocks (they may have to start writing his name in capitals like they used to do for Ginobili) and you even have an intimidating presence around the basket. It’s a good start.
Coaching – Avery Johnson took a huge ‘L’ to his personal credibility by willingly engaging in what seemed like a game of coaching ‘chicken’ with recovering bender-goer Don Nelson. Unfortunately for Johnson, going with what is tried in true doesn’t always work, as the small line-up that gave the Lig fits during the regular season backfired large in the 1^st round. Figure this to be one part sustained preparation that the Playoffs allow, one part flopping super-star and one part Golden State roster, which is the antithesis of a squad like, say, last year’s Stern-anointed champions, the Miami Heat.

Hard-ass Jerry Sloan doesn’t play that outcoached ish very well, and you can be sure some sort of definitive game plan will be in effect for any Jazz team that plays under him. As many pundits have already made reference to, Utah seems to have the ammo to force the Warriors to make game plan adjustments: something every bigger team in the small ball equation must do to be successful.
Now I’m definitely not saying Utah will win this series; a lot of things had to go right for Utah for them to take Game 1 (which was one errant ‘Whoo’ Jackson three from making the Jazz the latest victims of Warrior bawl). That being said, the Warriors are definitely going to have to tinker with the front court match-ups, possibly switching Al Harrington or Biedrins onto Boozer and putting crazy on crazy with Whoo and Kirilenko. Clearly, Golden State is not going to win if the rebounding issue is not addressed. It would be interesting to see if Nelson also tries to get Monta Ellis going, as not only would his production be greatly valued but it will also extend the rotation to eight, something more befitting for an extended, drag ‘em out series.
From the Jazz side of things, keep in mind it is vital that Utah maintains its home court advantage in this series, as games in the Bay Area have turned into a madhouse for visiting teams, if the Dallas series is any indicator. But you can be sure of one thing tonight, Nellie will have his troops try and play even faster in Game 2, so expect a magic number of about 120: that would be one sure fire way to guarantee a Warriors victory.

A Weekend Recap of How Folks Got Knocked Out without Getting Knocked Down, Bloodied without Taking a Decision and Just Plain Dominated

2007-05-07T16:03:00.000-04:00

So the fight of the year came and went, as some boxing actually took place once the hoopla and shenanigans had finally subsided. I know that last statement may sound antiquated, but the pre-fight hype had reached vaudevillian levels, as probably one of the few things that actually made sense was the arrival of Mayweather to the ring in a sombrero and poncho (a nod to his uncle, the former ‘Mexican Assassin’) ultimately putting an exclamation point on the bizarre crescendo of multiple subplots.
Once the posturing had ceased, Floyd took off his actor’s hat and went from ‘bad guy’ to ‘boxer with no current peer’ as he dismantled De La Hoya one punch at a time, literally, while picking off anything his opponent threw. It can only be considered ironic how Oscar’s most crowd-pleasing moments during the fight were little more than Hollywood-style flurries that posed no danger to Junior. The sometimes there-sometimes not jab was the Golden Boy’s best punch of the night: a bad sign because his vaunted left hook was no where to be found. But as futile as De La Hoya’s aggression was, it was the primary reason there was a tempo to the fight at all, one that must have disappointed boxing industry overseers with its lack of blood and knockdowns, especially those pinning their hopes on this event as a jump off to spark a boxing revival amongst a rapidly dwindling audience.

"This is for hiring my dad...and then letting him, uh...quit."

Does there need to be a Pretty Boy-Golden Boy II…hardly. While impressive to only those who could appreciate the subtleties of the considerable technical skill Mayweather displayed in shutting down an experienced fighter, even the lay person could see De La Hoya was clearly outclassed. Only an overwhelmingly shady judge with a mandate kept this fight from being a unanimous decision and HBO did its best to work the angles, cumulating in an awkward admission by a Predator-looking Mayweather Sr. that De La Hoya did, in fact, win the fight on the basis of his fruitless aggression. The only outspoken voice of sanity on the entire broadcast was talking head/boxing savant Max Kellerman who not only took to task the judge who awarded De La Hoya the fight, but also spoke against his colleagues’ cheap shots concerning the skill and practical ability of MMA fighters. I’m sure the head of HBO boxing would almost be moved to anger at these less than pro-boxing comments…but he’s got some problems of his own to deal with.

Meanwhile, an upset did occur on the weekend, in a winner-take-all-bout only this time the man guaranteeing the victory was left once again in tears…

"I'd like to thank my teammates and coaches for cockblocking me once again...oh yeah, I said I wouldn't blame them this year...sheeeeeeeeee-it."

I know it’s a cheap shot, but for Houston to cop out in a Game 7 at home is clearly a disturbing landmark for the team. Maybe not as tragic as their Texas neighbours in the ‘D’, but upheaval in Rocketland is imminent, down to the premature reports of Van Gundy’s departure. So is this Tracy’s fault? Certainly his comments about this being his best chance to advance deep into the Playoffs didn’t help, all but absolving those around him. And sure, avoiding San Antonio, Phoenix and Dallas (RIP) till the Conference Finals did look good in theory. But this would ignore the obvious (and I don’t mean those of you who want to heap scorn on the slow jumping Yao), the roster has big flaws. And to all those who thought Luther Head was the answer at shooting guard…maybe this series was a dose of reality for you. Don’t be surprised if Larry Brown starts circling over this carcass…he was never one for etiquette.

Right now, the Spurs-Suns series is looking like a Championship Lite series. You think Nash coulda loaned some blood for the Mayweather-De La Hoya fight? San Antonio definitely pulled off a coup by getting the early win in Phoenix, and the fact that they won a game that was played north of 100 actually added to its impressiveness. Despite the Sun’s inability to consistently defend Tony Parker, I really felt that the difference in the game was Stoudemire’s inability to consistently finish at a high percentage around the rim. Duncan is ornery as ever, and his glowering at the refs rivals anything Mr. Burns ever did in his most inspired moments of evil: Amare’s gonna have to be able to score around the basket without relying on getting free throws. On the flip side for Phoenix, the Spurs will not be able to continue scoring at the Game 1 pace throughout the series: the Suns have to keep future games in the 100s to get their wins.

Who can say whose glower is more potent...

Tonight, everyone will see how Golden State fairs against a team it’s not seemingly designed to beat. Utah has a low post presence and a structured offense…Boozer might average 30 and 15 for the series. But that may not even matter if Baron and Co. continue to run and attack, however, I get the feeling they will need Al Harrington this series. Regardless, it should make for some interesting ball…well, unless Utah imposes a Sloan-esque pace to the games. Then Cuban might have that heart attack for real…

Another Weekend...Some More Big Games...

2007-04-27T14:25:00.000-04:00

So Friday has arrived and Game 3 is hours away. We'll see if the troops are ready and can use the momentum from Tuesday's win to steal a game or two in the Swamp. I wish just one person could document the transformation Bosh undergoes from his day time identity of Ronnie Devoe to the perenial All-Star we have come to know and love for game time...

They had to put his name at the bottom, just to throw people off. Now you know...

Apparently a hobbled Kidd is a game time decision, but someone should tell him that when guards do the Willis Reed-thing...it never works. Ask Isiah and he only did it for part of a game. I guess this will allow the media to be further distracted by the obvious flaws Kidd brings to the court, and conversely puts even more pressure on the other Nets to finish or score in general. And you wonder why Vince has been struggling with the pressure...the press with absolutely burry him if the Raps win this series (you know RJ will get that 'recent injury' pass too). Laugh if you wanna, but it really does suck to be VC...(sorry Cor).

Big crazy shout out to K up in Cali for finding a way to get a ticket to the best game of Lackers/Suns series last night without even relying on his own personal Ari (...hey, screenwriters is connects too). From what I have ascertained thus far; the Staples Center makes the ACC look really drab, they love them some Jack down there and Mexicans make for some pretty belligerent (some may say gansta) ball fans...I guess that gritty component of the fan base compensates for the lingering 'X-lister' stench around the arena. Too bad Kobe and friends will lose Game 4 - nobody said it'd be anything but an uphill battle out there...

Yeah he's got a strong back...but what's the name of that Game song...the one where he disses all the video gullz...oh yeah.

Speaking of Cali, I managed to catch Game 2 of the Golden State series and that team is an endearing group of nutty characters playing some incredibly frantic ball - check out Don Nelson on the sideline, and you'd swear he's been downing shots of Jack during the TV timeouts. And I thought Garbajosa looks like he just came off a bender...It'd be nice to see them pull off the upset, but regardless of what happens, at least you know their fans will have a sense of humour about it.

I guess now would be a good time to mention I have secured a ticket my own damn self for Game 5 out here: Lower Bowl too. It's just that I'll have to spend the rest of the weekend Jeezy-ing it up, slanging rocks and such to make that happen...should be a great game if I live to see it...

Time to purchase the 'Good luck' 40 and dust off that 'three day straight' gear...we'll see if Raps' beige out trumps Net beiges one more gain. A win tonight would go a long way towards a:(found at The painted Area; courtesy of some Ugly Bosh face and photoshop)

New Jersey Nets = Fergie

2007-04-25T14:36:00.000-04:00

Over the first two games of the Raptors playoff series against the Nets, I have taken to referring to New Jersey as being a bunch of roaches: mostly for their ability to flourish in the ugliest of possible environments and their seemingly natural stubborn unwillingness to ‘die’ or at least for the moment, fold. Naturally, the metaphor is unflattering and possibly a little too vague, so perhaps another can be introduced to better illustrate this tendency for the Nets to be successful at perpetuating ugly play, an ugliness that goes unnoticed by a good portion of the masses, who mistake their somewhat seductive exterior (their two All-Stars forming the corner stones of the ‘Big 3’) as something of inherent worth. You wonder what these people see in NJ, possibly not bothering to take a closer look at what they appear to admire, because if they did…

And then it struck me: the New Jersey Nets are…"Fergilicious".

Some of you expect this to bring sexy back...no, really.

Yes, the collective face of this team, that notable troika of Kidd, Carter and Jefferson appear to impress – I mean, two of them have been all-stars for years and all are former Olympians (a different type of All-Star team). But let’s look a little closer…

Kidd can still pass and run an offense: in fact, he is the only person on the roster with that capacity. I’ll make this brief…the man cannot stay in front of anybody defensively and can only score in the most negligent defensive moments that any defense may extend to him. It’s a joke how deficient these areas of his game are: there’s only so much the metaphorical photoshop can do (zone defense and constant reaching ignored by refs and wide, WIDE open threes on the other end…thanks Lawrence) to make this guy look good here. Game 2 is a good bet to be his best scoring game of the entire series, which amounted to – 14 points on 5-14 shooting? Not so pretty…

Ah, Vince. What more can I say that hasn’t been already experienced by any Toronto basketball fan in the past decade. Still, the mental fragility he displays at this stage of his career boggles the mind: even I was surprised how shook Vince has appeared in the ACC – it’s like he’s half man, half-way crook (if there were such a thing…). Even when he makes the effort to try and assert himself on offense, all it takes is one miss and he looks ready to break out in tears. I’ll just leave it at this: somebody please give dude a hug…

"Please, whatever you do...don't funk with my heart..."

Over his career, RJ seems to have gotten more than his fair share of the NBA media machine's hype without really doing that much to distinguish himself on the court. His defensive game seemed to propell his reputation as a two way player, however it's his offensive game that is basically flawed, stained by that less than steady jumper (playing beside Kidd is a good way to look better as a shooter tho). Even his strength appears to be a mirage, as I can’t recall seeing a player in the NBA that takes more advantage of that skip step when going to the basket…it’s like he’s unable to not travel. But that’s Jefferson; he’s someone who needs to be enabled to be effective (witness non-existent defense played on him in Game 1). I still don’t know how he made that ’02 Olympic roster, but the fact that he hasn’t been invited to the latest installment of U.S. national team shows where his career trajectory is headed. One thing that will be clear by the end of this series:

Anthony Parker >>> Richard Jefferson

In short, the Nets' version of winning basketball is a fugly one. They expect to ride their flawed ‘Big 3’ to victory, something which will only happen if their opponents play poorly, at best (the Raptors have had a combined 31 assists as a team in the first two games: that total was a typical stat for an average game in February). This whole discussion is really moot, because the Nets can’t possibly have any serious pretensions about winning a championship with this squad: unreasonable doesn’t begin to describe that thought. Putting NJ next to any true contender, is like put Fergie next to any true singer. Or genuinely attractive woman. Both will be exposed. Some folks will be resigned to this reality and some just won’t want to hear it. Either way, in the end, you know that it won’t be pretty.

Nuff said.

Now that Sam Mitchell is officially coach of the year, it's seems even more odd that it's been generally accepted that Lawrence Frank will be setting to pace as far as strategic maneuvering and other coaching posturing. So the best Raptor fans can hope for is to have Sam to properly manage the rotation (poor in Game 1, much better in Game 2...it still matters) and inspire some of the underwhelming performers of this series to step up (Bargnani and, sigh, Joey Graham). But figuring out a double-teaming scheme of the post other than the most basic one that leaves the passer with a wide open look; unlikely. And funnily enough, typical to Sam, he’s completely unapologetic about this: while contrasting Frank and Mitchell, this reporter refers to such X’s and O’s as ‘overcoaching’. Funnily, seeds of doubt still seem to lay in the shadows of Mitchell’s career as Raptor coach, with a bidding war looming for Sam’s services. Colangelo could definitely use this as an out should he seem to think that the Raps need a coach with slightly higher tactical acumen to take them to the next level. I may be in the minority here, but I believe that’s a very important card left to play, and for once in this team’s lifetime I can honestly say my trust in our GM’s decision-making is absolute. But for now, it’s like the song goes: “you got to love the one you’re with…” Especially when your common enemy is fug.

And so it goes...a lesson in game management and the NBA agenda

2007-04-21T15:30:00.000-04:00

First things first, let's keep it real: it's just the first eff'n game...

So the Raptors came out the gates more like the team with nothing to play for than the streaking squad that ran through the second half of the season wrecking havoc 'round the Lig. You can't expect to win a playoff game like that...it's just not gonna happen.

And yes, at the risk of giving in to the most obvious paranoia, the refs didn't quite choose to subscribe to the traditional thinking for the role of the official concerning home court advantage. The last five minutes or so were most painful, the span between say 4 and two minutes in particular. Bare witness to the following calls made during what was an 83-82 game:

phantom loose ball foul call against Humphries on the defensive end
allowing RJ to travel in attempting to throw up a runner on which he consequently received 2 free throws for
ignoring contact on a Parker 17 footer by Carter (game log credits RJ) which ended up hitting the side of the backboard and going to Jersey
missing an obvious RJ carry, even by NBA standards, which lead to...
the most egregious case of pre-emptive superstar treatment - phantom foul call on Parker while Vince was in the process of pulling up for a 19 footer: 2 shots
some good ol' fashioned soccer-style fuckery, as Nachbar dives on a defensive rebound (!) and draws the loose ball foul which leads to 2 shots as the Raps are in the penalty

This all happened in a two minute span, as the Nets only came up with only two field goals (Nachbar dagger three and uncontested Vince lay-up) in the last five minutes. I have yet to mention the 'psyche job' the refs performed on Bosh by flagging him with two quick phantom calls to begin then game, and later denying him calls in the post against those mighty defensive stalwarts Jason "I got 6 fouls...and apparently don't need em" Collins and Mikki Moore. Then again, if anyone seriously wants to dispute this as a natural reality, I would suggest Mark Cuban as a shoulder to cry on. But if you do happen to want to focus your ire over the officiating, might I suggest directing that anger towards #31, Mark Wunderlich, Jason Kidd's favourite stoppage play conversational partner.

As I mentioned previously, the Raptors are going to win games clearly and decisively: relying on stretch runs will be an impossibility. I guess the obvious offending party here would be Sam Mitchell, the recently anointed coaching savant...

It could be argued the turning point of the game was removing Bosh and the resulting momentum that was created near the end of the first half, with the Raps closing down the Jersey lead to 44-41. With under two minutes left, the Nets went on a 7-0 run to enter the locker room with a 10 point cushion. Really, Mitchell spent the game reacting to Frank's moves, whether it was the match-up zone the Nets occasionally employed to Lil' Lawrence's judicious use of time outs. Frank clearly set the pace and controlled the game from a coaching standpoint.

But perhaps the most damaging coaching decision Sam chose to make was his insistence on leaving Joey Graham out for extended minutes. Joey's production (4 points, 4 rebounds, 35 minutes) was troubling, but what really stinks is his refusal to use MoPete as merely an alternate non-option. Given Garbajosa's absence, the 3 position is already razor thin, so not using a viable and experienced option because of some petty, personal feud is inexcusable. To put it bluntly, the Raps were outscored at the small forward position 50 to (a charitable) 7. Even counting RJ's abnormally large output as Parker's first half negligence, that's still a roughly 30 plus point difference. That even outstrips the 34-12 advantage in point production the Raps enjoyed from the lead guard position (I know, Kidd had 15 assists, five more than Ford and Calderon combined...).

Well, it's looking like I'll be at Game 2, so hopefully I will be a live witness to the adjustments that need to be made by the Raptors. The Nets have revealed their junk defenses and other gimmicks now, so barring Wunderlich from pulling a complete snow job, I anticipate the Raps coming out a signifcantly different squad on Tuesday. The end result should be different too.

Last Minute Post: And it all comes down to this…Nets vs. Raptors Playoff Preview

2007-04-21T10:56:00.000-04:00

So the Raps seemed destined to cruise into a nice, safe first round series with the Arenas-less, Butler-less Wiz. Now it’s cardiac arrestsville for us Raps fans, cuz guess who’s coming back to town – who says you can never go home? That’s right, Vince Effin’ Carter and the somewhat streaking Nets. Personally, I’d be lying if I said that I’m happy about this: spin this how you want, but how could anybody be upset with a guaranteed pass to the 2^nd round that the Washington series potentially afforded. And to top it off, there appears to be a bit of momentum behind the Jerz, which capped off their season splitting Bulls wigs (thanks Chicago…) to secure this Atlantic Division showdown. On paper, I almost think it would’ve been to the Nets benefit to play Chicago in the first round (they did take the season’s series 3-1 and appear to match up well with those no superstar having-punks), but considering the boiling emotional undercurrent and infamous history these two teams share, it would be difficult to judge a Nets/Raptors series by match-ups alone. Which doesn’t mean I won’t try and do it tho…so here it is, the traditional break-down.

Point Guard
Nets: The Nets have Ason Kidd, and it’s interesting that while the Nets have gone 5-1 in April (8-2 in their last 10) Jason has reverted back to ‘Ason’. In the month of April, Kidd has been shooting 27.6%, averaging 8.8 points a game: during this time he has compiled more assists and rebounds (!) than points. It’s safe to say, the only place Kidd will be putting up big numbers is on Richmond Street (Inside…perhaps…fo’ old time’s sake…): ladies, if you’re looking for a recently divorced light-skin, be ready to mingle.
Inappropriate comments about one’s skin colour and private life aside, we haven’t even gotten to the biggest drawback of having Kidd on the court: his defense. I hear that some ‘professional’ commentators have finally started to join the bandwagon in acknowledging that Kidd is unable defend any above average point guard in the Lig. Although this may be the obvious precedent, this is a man who let Anthony Johnson go for a Curtis in the final game of last year’s playoffs series against the Pacers. At this point in his career, it would be inaccurate to label Kidd as anything less than a defensive liability. It will take some serious smoke and mirrors to keep this fact from being exploited, but expect Lawrence Frank to try…don’t be surprised if you see some extended periods of the Nets using zone, especially when TJ is on the court.
These are two big negatives, so why is Kidd so important, vital even, to the overall functioning of the Nets? He can pass. To put it short, he is the only player on the Nets roster who will pass, voluntarily. This Nets squad is not particularly good with ball movement, so it is almost essential that he is logging big minutes to keep the team running smoothly. Plus, he is also one the best rebounders on the team, an important fact in that he can initiate the break better by hitting leakers as opposed to running it himself. Either way, his court savvy is irreplaceable for the Nets. It’s like the song goes: “You take the good, you take the bad…”
The back-up is Marcus Williams, a predictably erratic rookie, best known for his college exploits of not passing to Denham Brown and stealing labtops. Like the rest of the Nets, he appears loathe to pass, but has shown the ability to create for himself and even, at times, finish. His one on one tendencies, while making him generic to the roster also, unsurprisingly, cause him to be turnover prone: don’t expect to see him much this series.
Raps: The play of point guards TJ Ford and Jose Calderon have been a large reason for the Raps success this season…y’all know the names and the deal. Both have enjoyed moments of spectacular play, and compliment each other nicely. It should be interesting to see who Sam leaves out on the court during crunch time.
Overall, the Raptor point guards must be aggressive offensively and look to take advantage of Kidd, who will, no doubt, wear down over the series. That being said, if Frank throws out the junk defenses, don’t be surprised to see extended periods of Calderon, whose poise and outside jumper will be a sticking point for the Nets. It shouldn’t be surprising to see the Raps outscoring the Nets by 20 at this position…
Advantage: RAPTORS

Shooting Guard
Nets: I, more than anyone, am weary of this analogy, but sadly it seems to ring true every time Vince pops back into our lives: he is that girl that we had the messy break-up with and continues to leave us affected to this day. Everyone knows all about Vince, but to his credit, he has absolutely put this team on his back down the stretch, playing some of his best basketball heading into the series and is a legitimate triple-double threat. There is always an ‘x’ factor (ex…heh, heh…pardon the pun) with Vince and his inherent immaturity still befuddles to this day: will he take on and rise to the challenge of an overtly hostile crowd, or will he buckle at the first couple of missed shots? So much drama with the ex’s…
Raps: Anthony Parker has been another Colangelo steal, a glue guy who has had a stellar end of the season, leading the Raptors in scoring in a number of games down the stretch. A smart and tough defensive player, Parker’s three pointers from the corner have become an indispensable part of the Raptor’s half court sets. Juan Dixon has been an exceptional mid-season pick-up and someone who has earned Mitchell trust, as he has been given significant playing time since joining Toronto. Dixon is an exceptional scorer who is adept at creating for himself and knocking down shots, but lacks the size to be a stopper defensively.
Overall, it will be tough to deny Mr. Carter, especially given his recent form. The Raptors will have to make him work for everything he gets and play him as physical as possible (which is why Joey Graham will get his turn with Vince). Hopefully the crowd will get to him, but that’s another double-edged sword with Vince. If there’s a positive to this match up, it’s that the Raptors appear to finally have players that will produce some offense from this position – at least it will keep the Nets honest, because you know Vince isn’t trying to expend any energy on defense.
Advantage: NETS

Small Forward
Nets: As friend of the family Bill Walton alluded to during their season ending game against Chicago, Richard Jefferson is not the same player he was before his most recent season-ending injury, probably because he’s not playing near 100%. While not on the level of Kidd, RJ can do his fair share of brick-laying (even when healthy), as in the last two games he has shot a combined 7-30: however, he has shown an ability to compensate by drawing fouls, as he was 21-24 from the free throw line during those games. While not providing the same defensive presence the team has come to expect (they already have Vince dogging it on the regular), a crippled Jefferson is still, for all intents and purposes, the trailing portion of the Nets big three. Bostjan Nachbar may actually be a better indicator than RJ on the Nets overall success: during the month of April, he has averaged 15.2 points per game coming off the bench, while shooting 54.8% from the field and a blazing 59.4% from three.
Raps: Since Garbajosa went down, Joey Graham seems to have slid into Sam Mitchell’s good graces, as he has been a started all through April, averaging a respectable 15.2 ppg on 49 % shooting. A big, strong bodied presence when active, Joey has never been accused of being an intelligent player. I would say MoPete could surprise people with his production in the playoffs but now he has to overcome a recently hyper-extended knee in addition to his place in Mitchell’s doghouse. Still, if he can manage to not shoot every jumper fading in random directions, he could put a lot of pressure on the Nets team defense – something he would love to do to the team of his old buddy Vince.
This match-up is a toss up, particularly with an injured RJ logging big minutes (35.5 in April) semi-healthy and the savvy rookie Garbajosa out. The small forward position has been a sore spot all year for the Raps, as consistent scoring from the 3 has been hard to come by: when they do get it, they are hard to beat. Whoever manages to step up (Graham, Nachbar, Peterson) at this position could be a difference maker in the series.
Advantage: EVEN

Power Forward
Nets: Awww, suki suki. Look what we have here. A big reason the Nets are stringing win streaks together at the end of the season has been the presence of the Mikki Moore and to a lesser extent, Josh Boone off the bench. Moore, in particular has been holding down the frontcourt, sliding into Nenad Krstic’s role of knocking down his 6-10 shot attempts from 15 feet with surprising regularity. Even Boone got into the act, regularly putting up double-doubles with some extended minutes in March. But make no mistake here, there’s a lot of subterfuge going on here with the statistics: both these players derive their offense solely off the consequence of the various iso sets and the resultant double-teaming of their more heralded team mates, especially Vince. These guys create nothing for themselves, and are not a threat in that capacity.
Raptors: …on the other hand, we have Chris Bosh. If this is a defining series for the rebuilding Raptors, this goes double for the legacy of Bosh. As the line goes, if Chris Bosh comes out hungry, the Nets frontcourt definitely qualifies as something to eat. It would not be outrageous to say Bosh, individually, has more talent than the Nets’ big men, combined. It’s just a matter of showing it.
Lawrence Frank has probably been losing sleep over this. Bosh will, no doubt, see a series of defensive looks and traps from various angles to keep him off balance. It will be more of a mental series for Chris than any other Raptor: like Vince, he will get the superstar treatment, and by treatment, I mean focus. Don’t be surprised to see Jason ‘I got 6 fouls to give’ Collins get matched up with Bosh in the post, furiously trying to push him out of the key to the 18-20 foot range. Funny thing is, Bosh can hit those too. For Moore/Boone to get anything here will be a total let down for Toronto and a huge victory for Jersey. Conversely, Frank may have to concede Bosh’s points, accepting that reality and working around it.
Advantage: RAPTORS

Centre (yeah, you up in Canada now, bitch…)
Nets: The Nets thin front court got thinner when ‘Need a vowel’ Krstic went down for the season. ‘6 fouls to give’ Collins occupies the starter’s position here, but don’t expect to see him on the floor for starter’s minutes. He brings virtually nothing offensively to the team, although he might be their best rebounding big (although still less effective than their POINT GUARD). He’ll probably use at least half of those 6 fouls in the 20 odd minutes he’ll see of the court. Expect to see the resurrection of Uncle Cliffy Robinson for the playoffs. This old man will be dusted off and allowed to randomly jack from the perimeter: their version of an ancient Bargnani, if Bargnani was born in Buffalo and had a love for that good smoke. With the Raptor’s potential to get up and down the court, NJ will also probably be using a lot of small line-ups.
Raptors: Our version of the make-shift centre comes in the form of Rasho Nesterovic. He is a polished big with some surprising passing ability, a decent mid range game and the ability to play a goalie-like role on defense. What he also happens to be is the opposite of hard. This is a 7 footer who is less likely to dunk from inside 5 feet than any other 7 foot individual playing basketball on the planet. Like Collins he doesn’t usually see starters minutes, and will contribute on a proportionally basis to his minutes.
The script-flipper here is the presence of super-rook and imported Italian flavor, Andrea Bargnani. As a legit 7 footer, he will be a mess to match up with for the Nets. His game and poise has developed by leaps and bounds during the season, and his confidence in sticking the 3 is almost at a veteran level. The Nets only option maybe to have their most mobile big, Moore, chasing Andrea around outside while Collins hacks away at Bosh. Frank will be praying for the rookie jitters to strike, because if they don’t, it could get really scary for NJ here.
Advantage: RAPTORS

Bench
Nets: Lawrence Frank will probably run an 8 man rotation, so expect Nachbar, Boone and Uncle Cliffy to be the chosen three with Williams, Antoine Wright and Hasan Adams as the odd men out. Nachbar’s three point touch will be the definition of bench scoring for Jerz, and if the Raptors let him average strong double-figures, it will be a problem. With outside shooting at a premium, the Nets really will miss Eddie House here.
Raptors: Calderon, Dixon and MoPete will provide the bulk of the bench scoring and figure at least two out of three to enjoy a good series. Kris Humphries will be supplying the bulk off the bench and depending on how Sam wants to play it, his role could be significantly lessened with a smaller line-up. Personally, I think the under-lengthed Humphries could wreck some havoc with the inadequate rebounders that litter the NJ roster.
Ultimately, the Raptors must limit Nachbar’s effectiveness and the open looks Vince et al could provide; he has enough skill to keep defenses honest and will even put it on the floor occasionally. The rest of the Net bench is, realistically, just filler. Expect Calderon to excel in this series, in particular, and could create a huge buzz for himself by dogging the still highly regarded Kidd. When the Raps offense is running crisply, there will be a lot of open looks available. It shouldn’t be too surprising to see Dixon and/or MoPete to have some reasonably big games. Advantage: RAPTORS

Coaching
Nets: Lil’ Lawrence Frank has managed to get his team tuned up and peaking at just the right time. Under his direction, Frank has managed to get the team to understand their strengths and the Nets seem to have accepted the offensive leadership that only Vince can provide. A lot of smoke and mirrors have come into play with the Nets success, as even Frank has had to except that his roster is inherently flawed and work to find ways to make more talented teams play down to his team’s level (what other team in the Lig will win while expecting one of their best players (Kidd) to get significantly outscored by his opposite number). He deserves a lot of credit for the team’s relative success.
Raptors: Coach Sam Mitchell has turned a lot of heads by successfully orchestrating the turnaround of a young, unfamiliar roster. The ability to develop players seems to be his greatest asset as he has yet to be called a superior tactician. While he appears much more polished in dealing with players (well, people in general) than in the past, Sam’s doghouse still plays a large part in his handling of the rotation (ask MoPete). This series could provide some significant insight into the question of Sam’s ability to successfully coach a contender.
Advantage: NETS

Intangibles
Nets: Comes down to a single word: experience. Yes, the Nets are coming into this series on a roll, something that the Raps cannot claim. But ultimately, the playoff experience on this roster should bolster the confidence of a team that clearly is lacking in overall talent. The holes on this roster are tremendous. But Lawrence Frank has managed to find a style for this team to play to give them a chance to win on any given night. Kidd deserves much of the credit for facilitating this style, which ultimately works to enable Vince. Defensive effort will also be a focal point: the Nets will have to force or merely hope the Raptors are not at their best if they are to win this series.
Raptors: The fact that the Raptors have managed to reel off wins after a rough start should come as no surprise. The team has bought into a philosophy of sharing the basketball that belies the traditional ‘isolate the superstar and wait for results’ ethic the permeates throughout the Lig. At their worst, the Raptors dump the ball to Bosh in a random part of the court and just stand around the perimeter and watch, which is par for the course for a good portion of teams. Even with Garbajosa injured, the Raps have a deep and diverse roster, which combines some unique talents with some stabilizing agents: they can be very tough to stop when they are clicking. The Raps must remember to do the little things, and play physical when they have to. The team defense has also been shaky at times and must tighten up if Toronto expects any sort of playoff run. At the end of the day, this is a young team with little playoff experience (even the coach is new to this), but expect the Euro-influence to provide a stabilizing influence.
Advantage: DRAW

Some possible scenarios...

What a Nets win will look like: An uglied up game that features Vince having a big to gigundus game with a secondary scorer emerging. The Nets will out rebound the Raps and work their iso-based offense to shoot a relatively high percentage, generally nailing their open looks. Chris Bosh and TJ Ford will have varying degrees of sub par games and the Raptors, as a team, will shoot horribly. Any advantages in skill the Raptors may have, particularly in team play, will be nullified by the impeccably crafty tactics of Frank and the inability of Sam to figure a way for his inexperienced squad to overcome them. Expect the Nets to score in the high 90s and the Raps to be in the high 80s, low 90s. If the Raps do not completely succumb to ugly ball and manage to hang in and keep it close, they will collapse down the stretch, with Jerz riding Vince for all he’s worth in crunch time. Either way, VC will end the game by searching for his moms and locking eyes with her, as they will share the most unknowing knowing stare in the history of man. Raptor fans will alternately want to cry and puke. Bleeding may also be involved. If New Jersey moves on to the 2^nd round (where they will promptly lose), they will leave behind the scattered, emotionally-drained carcasses of Raptor fans strung out like crack heads aimlessly across the GTA (and at least one in LA).

What a Raptors win will look like: All cylinders will be firing for the Raptors as they will revel in their balanced team scoring with 4 or 5 guys reaching double figures. Bosh will either dominate and have a huge individual game or use the attention he will garner to provide his team mates with open looks and have a solid statistical game. The Raps will shoot well to extremely well, as none of Frank’s defensive schemes and gimmicks will work. Vince will have a big to average game as no secondary scorer emerges. The Raptors will put on a show and win comfortably. If the Raptors happen to win a close game, they will have escaped with a victory while succumbing to Jersey’s lowest common denominator ball. At this point, the Raps must realize they have completely lucked out and should appropriately strive to never be put in that situation again.
As the series closes out, New Jersey fans will curse and wish their team had settled for the lottery. Everyone will know Kidd can no longer guard anyone and VC will agree to terms with Orlando in the summer. Jay-Z will get that feeling he got when he first heard ‘Ether’, then make a call to LeBron.

Final Outcome: It’s clear this series could be a flashpoint for the Raptors’ future trajectory as a franchise: although even I've been overly dramatic about this, their world will not end if the Raptors do not to make it to the 2nd round. In a weird way, Jersey is coming into the playoffs with an almost necessary delusional state to succeed in the short term: this team is clearly not built for a long playoff run and at the end of the day, could making it to the second round possibly be considered any sort of accomplishment?With tip time rapidly approaching, I'll leave it at this. There will be high points and there will be low points, but regardless what most of the experts say, I have to believe the better team will come out of an extended series. I'd say 7 games, but I really think we can win in Jersey.

RAPTORS in 6

It's on like tron...

And You Actually Wondered Why Chappelle Turned Down the 50 Mill?

2007-04-13T15:11:00.000-04:00

This comes from my love for denouements as much as from my desire to wrap up a particularly unsavory chapter in the history of popular media-related issues. Don Imus has been fired from MNBC and CBS radio has followed suit protecting its moral integrity/bank. There. Now he can go to satellite radio, where he and his bitter listeners can bigot-it out to their hearts content, lamenting the inherent unfairness in being born a member of the majority in today’s society. Life truly is a bitch. Or is it accountability? Either way…there is a bigger picture to this.

The real 'Negrodamus'?

So to all those people who still have to ask why they can’t say the things that rappers et al. "get away with" on the regular: you are the reason there is no Chappelle Show. He gracefully bowed out without the media pressure because he knew you couldn’t handle it. And seeing his material get twisted through the mainstream was probably too much for him, anyways…

Hope everyone is happy now. For shizzle. You know I won’t even go near this foolishness again…

Oh and a big statement game tonight versus the Pistons. My first attempt at purchasing playoff tickets has seemingly been thwarted by unoccupied Leaf fans. I guess it’s the price you pay when a hockey town ain’t got nuthin’ better to do…and here I was thinking I wouldn’t have to share in the suffering of a Leaf-less hockey post season.

Life’s a Bitch When You’re Expected to be Held Accountable for Your Actions….

2007-04-11T08:30:00.000-04:00

Well, let’s not go that far yet…

So there’s this guy, a radio hot of a show for a huge radio network. Works for a big corporate entity. But he’s a former full-fledged shock jock, bit of a loose cannon. He has a sizable loyal audience too…because to them, he speaks his mind…not some watered down PC mush here…son tells it like it is. Some people actually love him. The sort of people Karl Rove has wet dreams about (when he's not rapping...he prolly even imagines they live in Ohio)…

Anyways, this guy…his name is Don Imus. And he must have a soft spot for sports or something, because he decided, in that annoying and obnoxious, talk-pause sorta way, to speak on the ladies' NCAA College Final. He was gonna cut up women’s basketball using that razor sharp wit typical to the talk show host breed. Only the best he could come up with was this. Now it’s all over the news and, consequently, he's been given a vacation.

Between all the talk of free speech and white folks clamoring on message boards over what colloquialisms are appropriate to say and lamenting how they can’t say anything good while throwing out some serious Al Sharpton hate comes a question I believe is overlooked. One of accountability. It’s incredible, if not in conceit alone, that an old white man could come up with something like that and think he could, for lack of a better term, get away with it. And I’m sure if the corporate overlords’ cost-benefit analysis goes through, he still ultimately might.

More than anything, I think this incident is symptomatic of an underlying current of thought that has (surprise) flourished during the Bush administration along with partisan politics and fundamental Christian dogma. Granted, it’s less sinister, but epitomizes all that fuels the negative image of America around the world.

It’s this notion of ideally and blindly reducing every scenario to a base equality or sameness. That’s not to say everyone doesn’t deserve equality in the sense of fairness or treatment. It’s more like not every scenario can be treated as equal because the world not structured that way. It is impossible to deny context to any dialogue.

You can’t run around saying dropping the ‘n bomb’ has the same impact as using honkey or cracka. And just because rap artists use certain insensitive characterizations, absorbed enthusiastically by its given demographic, does not mean some old white man with a mainstream radio show that acts as a national forum can liberally incorporate them in an attempt to contemporize his humour and not expect not to come off as abjectly bigoted. Even if he didn’t have all those precedents (Imus’ true nature betrays him as the logic behind that off handed remark reaches a depth of ignorance that is truly mind boggling).

My point is this. In this era of globalization, where mainstream culture can be affected by any number of counter-cultures with a startling quickness and foreign cultures can be examined with a relative ease and thoroughness unique to this time, context is more important than ever. Different people have different views that exemplify their particular cultures. And that has to be understood and respected. It is impossible to expect that everyone in our shrunken global village will conform to the same beliefs or even general views of conduct. What constitutes appropriate behaviour can not be just leveled off to some standard (cough...American) view. There are often significant historical backgrounds that shape these societal elements, so to deny this and expect to blindly treat everyone as the same is not just insensitive, it’s foolish. For the U.S. to deny this sensitivity in its foreign policy will just continually fuel further backlash in a painfully vicious cycle. Not only it is ridiculously impractical, it is ultimately harmful.

This ethos is readily apparent domestically as well (cuz it sure helps as a subliminal sales pitch to secure that strategic voting block). Why white folks feel so hard done by their perceived double standard of what constitutes appropriate speech for who is tired as it is unconstructive. It can only lead down one slippery path. If you really take issue to the presence or practice that results in such material, one only has to look at how it enters the mainstream and the rich conglomerates that shuck criticism and co-sign their profits under the motto of ‘That’s just entertainment…”. Trying to insert the same characterizations in real world scenarios open up a whole new view for interpretation, reflecting the harsher truths that often come with it. There's just no way to translate between the two.

To deny context is to deny uniqueness and diversity itself: being a minority should not subject one to sacrifice their individuality. So not being the same means exactly that. It means respecting differences. Fair treatment demands that. But, then again, fairness doesn't always win elections.

Imus should be fired. I chose not to go into all those reasons why: they were just too self-evident. But I don’t necessarily expect him to be.

Similarly, even if he does get fired, there are a plethora of places he could go to pick up right where he left off. There’s always someone who profits…it’s just not us.

This post, at least the part that mentions accountibility, is dedicated to Pacman Jones, who goes to show that when you make it rain, you're bound to get soaked.

And as far as that comparison of the Rutgers ladies' team to the Raptors goes...I guess it'll take the playoffs before Americans notice our relative lack of melanin on the roster...wouldn't surprise me if we even get more fans off of it. For some more interesting viewpoints, check out Slamonline: specifically here and here (for Etan the Poet's take...my NBA content for the day)

Reflections on a Maddening Weekend

2007-03-20T15:33:00.000-04:00

Before I proclaim myself some sort of profit, I will start off by mentioning I chose 13 of the final Sweet 16: I flipped flopped Vandy and Tennessee in two pools, with USC and UNLV consistently bringing fire to my brackets (and what’s up with Jason Terry’s beige-ass brother anyways?). This leaves me woefully wedged in the upper-middle of the pack in the Deadspin and ‘the Score’ online joints, as teams like Nevada, Perdue, Indiana, MSU and Kentucky messed with my first round brackets. And Oral Roberts as a Hail Mary…sailed through the proverbial end zone.

That being said, my Final Four line-up of Texas A&M with the three #1’s, Florida, Kansas and UNC is still looking decent with the Tar Heels to win. I have Pitt upsetting UCLA, but my money game (literally) on the horizon is the Georgetown v. UNC tilt, upset-pending of course.

All in all, the conspicuous lack of true Cinderella is evident, but after a blahzay opening round (made interesting only by the disposal of Duke), the Saturday of basketball more than made up for it. Again, no big upset, but several bullets dodged and timekeepers that went and earned their money. And possibly the most violent shove ever given by a person who looks like they should be planning for their pension (not that anybody is bitter about that). I have to admit, I was on the phone during that last minute of the Battle of Ohio, talking about what Oden will do now that his season is over…oh, the Madness. At least Duke is out. That’s word to Arenas. Quick shout out to my man, Johl, who was courtside at the ACC Friday, taunting Shane Battier with this fact and promptly received a highly combustible response. But would you have expected anything less from an ex-Dookie? I don't care how long Roy Willimas leaves his starters in games, he can only approach the amount of asshole in one strand on Coach K's thinning dome. (by the way, great year Coach...lose with the best in the summer, it's only appropriate you lose with the mediocre now...)

And to the infamous Marty-Mar, happy born day. Like I text you earlier: damn, you old. Click this link, cuz it’ll remind you…in case you forgot. What you know about them sexy young ladies of a light-skinned breed? And you call yourself righteous...

I’m Starting To Feel A Little Queasy…

2007-03-12T15:53:00.000-04:00

It’s the Madness, bebe…now that the field has been announced, now’s the chance to prep up for go time on Thursday..
So here’s a group of lists garnered off of first impressions to help decipher some of the potential plot twists that comprise what is the drama that surrounds…the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.

Cinderellas at the Ball: These guys need everything to go right, plus a few lucky bounces to move through the tournament. Typically under-sized, it’s expected that the guards will go off, but if any one of these teams gets some interior play, they will scare the bejezus out of the high seeds.

Winthrop: A balanced-team with some strong interior players: will win when they out-rebound opponents. Experienced squad, so it’s just a matter the talent translates. First round match-up against a team (Notre Dame) that heavily relies on their backcourt could bode well for the first team brought in George Mason 07’ discussions.

Oral Roberts: The other sexy pick. Earlier in the season, went into Kansas and came out with a win. This is a team that has senior leadership, some scorers that can put up numbers and excels playing grind it out basketball. Upset or not, their first round opponent, WSU, promises to make for a conservatively played game of who can out-execute whom.

Georgia Tech: Athletic teams that gets on you on defense. Their fortunes rest in the hands of point, Javaris Crittenton – if he has an off game, this team is done. However, a favourable draw has them playing UNLV (less athletic team) and potentially Wisconsin (suspect backcourt).

VCU: Athletic, albeit undersized, team that plays Duke first. Should be good for the first round upset. See Duke, Wouldn’t Get Far…

Mid Seeds Looking To Do Damage: These tend to be teams with some very talented players, but an extremely thin bench and ultimately flawed roster…could make noise or just as quickly, bow out in the first round.

Vanderbilt: Watched them beat Florida into a messy pulp. A menace when they get hot from the outside, and an absolute pussy cat when they go cold: either way, not a good rebounding team. Derrick Byars is a swing player who’s the resident big-time talent (in terms of the Raptors, he’s an upgrade on Joey Graham). A great home team…which means absolutely jack in the tournament.

Tennessee: Impressive backcourt lead by Chris Lofton: when he’s on, this team is scary. Very thin in the frontcourt: lives and dies on the 3 pointer. Odds are against a prolonged run, but could take anyone out on any given day. The projected second round match up against Virginia would be a great game for the viewer, but first round game versus Long Beach State should be a track meet as well.

Virginia Tech: A wildly inconsistent team with an exciting, athletic starting five that will, literally, jump over opponents and a razor thin bench that will be exposed at the whiff of foul trouble. Great defensively, but poor on the boards. Point guard Zabian Dowdell and walking highlight reel Deron Washington could lead VTU past two Illinois schools (IU and what should be SIU) to potentially scare the hell out of Kansas in the Sweet 16.

Butler: Another strong, perimeter oriented group that absolutely needs to have the three fall with A.J. Graves being key here. An undersized team, but very strong defensively: been ranked in the top 25 throughout the year, so they won’t be sneaking up on anyone. Due to their struggles down the stretch, many have Butler as upset candidates but a very favourable bracket (including a potential second round contest with consistency-plagued Maryland) would make Sweet 16 a realistic goal.

Dangerous 3’s and 4’s: Teams with enough depth to pull off a prolonged run. Usually flawed in one sense, but under the right circumstances, anybody on this list could catch fire and take out a 1 seed.

Texas A&M: Extremely well put together team with one of the best backcourts in the country featuring one of the most clutch players in the nation, in point Acie Law. One of the few teams with decent frontcourt depth, A&M tends to struggle when it relies on Law to do everything. Had some great wins during its conference schedule, but come into the tournament having lost two of its last three games. Have drawn an extremely favourable bracket ( as this team is built to handle the athleticism of 2 seed, Memphis ) and many project the Aggies to make a run to at least the Elite 8.

Texas: A very young team that relies on Kevin Durant. Simply put, he is outstanding: take advantage of any chance you get to watch him. Also, possess a very good backcourt led by the dynamic D.J. Augustin and A.J. Abrams. This team has had their ups and downs during the season, as you would expect of any team that played in a tough conference while starting 4 freshmen and a sophomore. But they appear to be peaking at the right time, so look for the Texas bandwagon to swell uncontrollably with a couple of big games from Durant. The potential UNC Sweet 16 match-up could easily be the game of the tournament.

Oregon: On a roll coming into the NCAA’s as the Pac-10 tourney champs. Extremely undersized, so they will push the tempo at all costs: often feature a line-up with no one taller than 6’7’’. Aaron Brooks makes the offense go, but have a vast array of perimeter weapons and secondary scorers. A threat to go deep into the tournament as they have a very favourable bracket and could run teams that struggle to score (like Wisconsin) off the court. While former big-time recruit Malik Hairston is expected to play big for his size, it's when Bryce Taylor and Tajuan Porter start to heat up from the outside, the Ducks are a nightmare to stop.

Pitt: Certainly can’t be accused of peaking too early. Have all the tools to wreck havoc in the NCAA’s, but need to regroup after getting waxed by Georgetown in the Big East Tourney Finals. Can get rattled by teams that can apply the sort of defensive pressure they are known for. Need the perimeter game to open things up for Aaron Gray: Ronald Ramon, in particular, can be deadly when he heats up. I’m still on the fence with these guys, but if they get past the first week intact (especially that nerve-wracking first round game against Wright State), they’ll be a handful.

Wouldn’t Get Far: Mostly, the typical group of over-rated majors that typically take away at-large bids from the mid-majors. Playing in a power conference has its privileges, but they are, for the most part, wasted on this group. In WSU’s case, they drew the wrong first round match-up…

Duke: Maybe Satan is getting tired of upholding that agreement with Coach K. Talent here is very much lacking and the simple physics of it is that when you rely on deficient parts to pick up the slack, you will struggle. Limped into the tournament with a questionable 6 seed. Team sorely lacks a go-to-offensive presence and athleticism in general: I don’t know if you saw VCU’s reaction at drawing the Dukies, but let’s just say they weren’t not chomping at the bit…

Washington State: The surprise team of the Pac-10 and I almost hate to have them here (sorry Asif). But drawing prime Cinderella candidate Oral Roberts has everyone looking at a high seed upset. I’m more inclined to believe their precision-based, plodding, control-style play and pack-it-in defense threw their high octane Pac-10 rivals off kilter. But you just can’t expect teams to not make you pay from the 3 point line in the tournament.

Kentucky/Boston College: Basically the same team, having large conference pedigree with a couple of star talents surrounded by mediocrity. The skill level is just not high enough for either team to make a dent in this tournament and both face the prospect of an early exit (especially KU playing a potentially dangerous Villanova team). It’s particularly sad scenario for BC, who looked to be a legitimate contender before Sean Williams' expulsion from the team.

Stanford: A young team,with some freak show appeal (the Lopez brothers are twin 7 foot centers), but really shouldn’t be here (ask Syracuse and Drexel). Shown they can compete from their middling, morale-boosting season in the Pac-10, but picked up a bad draw in athletic Louisville, and will only have a chance if they can dictate play (highly unlikely). This team has next year written all over it.

Teams With Luke-Warm Pub: Teams with often excessive talent that have the media throwing away their rose-coloured glasses when viewing them. These teams are often accused of not playing impressively down the stretch, having a weak schedule, being addled with youth or incurring a key injury. Regardless, some teams on this list are legitimate contenders, and their respective bandwagons will soon swell up and overflow once again after a couple of tourney wins.

UNC: A young, but extraordinarily talented and deep team that has struggled with consistency: lost 3 of their last 5 conference games before slaying all comers en route to the ACC tourney title. Still, there is an air of skepticism following this squad. One reason to believe is point Ty Lawson, who has excelled as a freshman and is a big game player. This team can go one of two ways: they will underachieve if they expect masked-wonder Tyler Hansbrough to set the pace, but they will be nearly unbeatable if Brandan Wright steps up and takes over.

Wisconsin: All the luster has come off these guys. Other than Alando Tucker, nothing these guys do is particularly impressive, they just play solid team ball at a high level. Of course, the question of complementary scoring from the supporting cast is a valid concern, but the season-ending injury to Brian Butch, a semi-legitimate post presence, may not be as disastrous as portrayed if the guards step up. A lot of folks have the Badgers not making it past the first week, but these guys have yet to suffer a really bad beat. Unless you count the Big 10 final…which in that case, yikes!

Arizona: The anti-Wisconsin…great talent, but never put it together on the court. And can anyone blame people for downplaying Zona’s presence in the tourney. Sure, they could be really dangerous, if they play to their potential. But is now the time to start talking about tapping your potential? Even their best player, streak-shooting, swing man Marcus Williams possesses a certain volatility that could go either way. And this team is absolutely finished once the tempo is slowed.

Memphis: A scary athletic team that has not lost a game since December: so why the luke-warmness? The conference schedule was considerably lacking in bite and folks are wondering what will happen when their vaunted attacking defensive style is matched up against a higher caliber of talent (their last loss was against Arizona!). This team could make or break many brackets, but it’s generally acknowledged they will run out of steam by the time they face a highly anticipated 2 v. 3 match-up against Texas A&M.

Honourable Mention - Ohio State: Unbelievably, many college commentators have managed to run that fine line between loving off Greg Oden while subtly questioning the rest of the team, despite its end of season winning streak. This is non-sense, really, as OSU is an lock for the Elite 8 and it will take some incredible circumstance to see them not get to the Final Four. There is some actual depth on this squad and an array of outside shooters. The cliché is that they have to keep Oden involved offensively to be effective. Duh.

Critic’s Darlings: Expectations run high for these teams. They have the common thread of having ‘been there before’, coming in on a hot streak and, for the most part, possessing impressively talented rosters. Not to say that certain teams on this list might come into the tournament a little…uh, inflated, perhaps.

Florida: Defending champions. All the starters return. Nuff said. Took some bad beats this year when their outside shooting fell the ‘eff’ off, but recovered as tournament time approaches. Al Horford is a traditionally skilled post who is a necessary complement to the Chris Brown of the SEC, dancin’-ass Joakim Noah (guaranteed to anger white folks everywhere with his post game victory shuckin') : if he sees the ball regularly, the Gators will be difficult to beat. Point Taurean Green is the wild card: any let down starts with him and his, at times, eratic shot selection.

Georgetown: Going into the tournament on a tear (15 of its last 16 against comme-ci comme-ca Big East opponents) while playing fierce some defense has clearly made people forget about their suspect backcourt. An imposing frontcourt is anchored by 7-2 Roy Hibbert and clearly led by Jeff Green, who could single-handedly carry this team offensively. However, they will be destined to kill a lot of brackets if the guards don’t do their part, something that must rest heavy in the minds of GU and their faithful. But all is not dark skies for the Hoyas on this end: Syracuse is not around to expose them with their 2-3 zone…

UCLA: Ying to Wisconsin’s yang. Flopped in the Pac-10 tourney, yet the bandwagon still crowded. Experience, a good coach and a less than overwhelming bracket are the pluses. If they get done in, it will be because of their thin front court and good but not necessarily great backcourt getting outplayed. A potential 2 v. 3 Pitt match-up, that will have Ben Howland facing his former team team and assistant, looms large.

Kansas: Versatile team with athleticism and plays strong defense. Another very good team that can stink it up from the perimeter: but unlike past UK teams, this one has shown an ability to overcome in-game adversity. If a scorer steps up, they could breeze to the Final Four.

Joakim Noah is Chris Brown....

2007-03-12T12:16:00.000-04:00

Click this link and say lemme hear you say, "Yo!"

The Madness is starting to reach a feverish pitch over here, stay tuned...

For the record, that was a really good win for the Raps yesterday. How could you not like the way TJ finished the game...pre-OT, even, although the getting beat up on the boards thing may be getting out of hand. Still, you have to like the resourcefulness of the team in general. We'll see if they take care of business with the Bucks tonight.

The Good And The Bad Of It All...

2007-03-09T13:35:00.000-05:00

For all the complexity of life, maybe it's just our human nature to try and dumb it down and veer towards a perspective of duality. Christianity took the ball and ran with it, establishing a moral context to the binary view of life: for any moment, it can be great or terrible, things are with good or bad. We are either in the good fortune to behold the raptures of Heaven or condemned to the infernal tortures of hell. Hyperbole can be a bitch, sometimes.
Regardless of my personal believes, when observing current events or merely ‘trending’, it’s hard to deny that sometimes things just come up in twos: for every positive ‘ying’, there is a more negative development as its ‘yang’. It’s still relatively early into ’07, but given my recent brief hiatus, its time to roll out a brief review of the current state of affairs, classified as either falling under ‘Styling on Heaven’ or relegated to ‘Played Out Hell’. Oh, the bliss and pain of it all…

'Styling On' Heaven: Raptors winning by outgunning teams (while playing little defense)
'Played Out' Hell: Raptors losing by getting bullied and beat up by teams (still no D)

SOH: Post All-Star Game Bargnani
POH: Post All-Star Game Bosh (hopefully, this will change soon)

SOH: Kobe turning down jumpers to aggressively attack the basket
POH: Kobe getting his shot turned away and using his patented arm flailing technique to aggressively attack the man guarding him (everybody knows you do it on purpose, it doesn’t matter if it’s just to get the foul call, so save the whole post ‘WHA meeee’ act…)

SOH: Free Ron Ron
POH: Freed Ron Ron

SOH: Parity in College Basketball potentially making this the wildest March Madness in years
POH: Now you try and figure out the number 1 seeds

SOH: The prospect of Duke losing embarrassingly early in the NCAA’s
POH: The fact that Duke will avoid total humiliation by still managing to even make it to the tournament…

SOH: Shawn Carter selling Rocawear for 200+ million in cash
POH: Jay-Z’s music catalogue (still nothing on there that’ll touch Illmatic, Big Homie)

SOH: Def Poetry Jam
POH: Def Jam

SOH: I heard Craig Mack back in the studio (he even used the Apache beat!)
POH: Diddy near any microphone, anywhere (is it just me, or did he tell the studio engineers to leave Keyshia Cole off key so he would sound less horrible on that Last Night record)

SOH: Misogynistic Kayne (sorry ladies, he’s more likable AND makes better music)
POH: Ghetto Fabulous Celebrity Kanye (remember #1…doo doo song AND he looked mighty suspect next to Pharrell in the video…maybe that’s just a moot statement tho)

SOH: Ciara upping her femininity game and looking good doing it, putting to rest those ridiculous cross gender rumours
POH: Ciara shooting a new video, and looking like she could beat down Omarion, Justin Timberlake, Lloyd, dancin’-ass Chris Brown, lil’ Bow Wow or any other young male R&B singer/teen idol type in a straight up brawl

SOH: Jamie Foxx doing comedy on his concert tour
POH: JF having to bring Twista on stage to so he could do his biggest musical number

SOH: “I don’t dis nobody to be somebody. I just like to kick the flavor that makes the people party…”

POH: Asinine Timbaland/Scott Storch producer beef that will just beget more forgettable music

SOH: Kells killing every hip-hop collabo/remix in sight (is that Young Jeezy joint even listenable without the R. on it?)
POH: JT on a beef (?!) record with a hip-hop producer (you started in a boy band and still managed to gain credibility as a solo artist…WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT DAMMIT!!!?)

SOH: Is Curtis really gonna manage to enforce his will on the industry and play out dissenting, less popular rappers for good? Naw…
POH: Is Jim Jones really the flagship Dipset rapper now? Oh, hell naaaaaaaw…

SOH: Kerry Washington being chosen by Chris Rock to represent an every woman’s sexy gal in his new movie
POH: Hulk Hogan’s daughter being chosen by anyone to represent anything (except as a stand in for one of Nick Carter’s sisters…that’s for you, L)

SOH: Wonderment at the seasonal originality and over all quality of the Wire while waiting for the new season
POH: Resignation at the recycled concepts and over all ‘been there, done that’ feel while watching the current season of 24

SOH: Gold digga/femme manipulators (cuz the dude saying that you wouldn't get far is a liar himself)
POH: The cats getting dug/manipulated (that's just G.P., Nick...it ain't personal)

SOH: College Hill’s ravenous skettels plotting Island-backdropped mayhem (as much as I hate to endorse any BET programming but this is the double-edged sword that's reality TV)
POH: American Idol keeping untalented skettels around to sing less than wel l. That’s it…just sing…not rock the mic (uh, check the web for more...so if they really getting down like that, AI should push Paula to get in touch with her bi side…they could dress the girls up like Debarge sisters…don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about)

SOH: Doritos Tandoori Sizzler ads (in spite of white guy voice over)
POH: Old Spice for featuring a lady French model as a champion for personal hygiene in their ads (cause in France, that’s a deal breaker)

SOH: Fronting/baaaallin’ in the club by applying R. Kelly’s bottle/model math
POH: Fronting/baaaallin’ in the club by trying to make it rain like Kells (only Pacman truly knows why it had to be like that…)

SOH: “…plus 2, I’m on the guest list fam, but if this dude ain’t like thirty, he don’t know who I am…” (…cuz I’m only the biggest rap star... in your apartment complex)
POH: “Thirty’s the new twenty…I’m so hot still…”
(uh…nuthin’ to do, huh…just another 80’s baby keeping it real)

SOH: Arrive. Raise Hell. Leave.
POH: "I’ll smack flames out of your ass!”

SOH: Liverpool as the only EPL club destined to get a result that matters in European competition (sorry Chelsea, whatever Man U)
POH: Man U running away with EPL crown in what has become an inconsequential snore fest (sorry Naeel, whatever Sir Alex)

SOH: Sudden outbreak of fights amongst players in high level international soccer matches
POH: Sudden outbreak of fights amongst players in high level international soccer matches (I didn’t think it was possible for grown men to repeatedly look this fassy…)

SOH: Bush administration winding down with the start of ’08 presidential campaign buzz
POH: Halliburton seemingly behind every major Bush administration scandal for past 8 years (somebody want to check that out?)

SOH: Cheney...uh...not alive
POH: Cheney alive and kicking (like you can really kill pure evil)

SOH: White folks loving Obama

POH: Republican braintrust manipulating a Hillary nomination to successfully place GOP candidate in the White House...again

This post is dedicated to the little man that's been keeping us waiting, and just blessed us with his arrival this week...welcome to the Dot, Don Adrian.

“These Are Our Heroes”: Breakdown of a Nas Tribute

2007-02-21T15:15:00.000-05:00

From a time when they weren't made to last...

When ‘Hop Hop is Dead’ was released, buried amongst the playlist was “Where are they now”, a throwback joint in every sense of the word. With its ‘Bomb Squad’-esque production and litany of past rap icons shouted out over the track, this song served as a compelling reminder to the headz and somewhat of a non-preachy history lesson for the “Insert consonant-eezy” generation of listener.
But in a rare moment of the consumer actually benefiting from marketing synergy, Mr. Jones decided to drop a series of ‘Where are they now” remixes, during Black History Month no less, featuring a specific generational or regional grouping of rhymers on each.
So for this week’s music drop, I decided to feature the 90’s remix and include all the seminal tracks from each of the featured artists…

Here it is: Nas’ Where Are They Now 90’s Remix ft. Redhead Kingpin, The Original Spinderella, Rob Base, Father MC, Monie Love, Mike D (of the Jungle Brothers), EST (of 3XDope), Positive K, Das EFX, Lords of the Underground, Dres (of Black Sheep).

For the record, I made some substitutions here and there: Joy and Pain was added for Rob Base, just for variety’s sake. I wanted to include something that illustrated how Positive K could really spit and was more than just that guy that got fronted on by that girl. And finally, I threw in a couple of less heard remixes for Das EFX and Black Sheep: anybody who knows me will know that I’m extremely partial to Dres as an emcee and that ‘A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing’ still ranks as one of my favourite albums of all time.
Speaking on that Native Tongue tip, even tho he wasn’t on the track per say (merely shouted out with reference to his legal woes), I’ll throw in this Chi Ali posse cut with various affiliated fam, including Juju from the Beatnuts.
I’ll leave it at this, and refrain from completely meandering to recall memories and extoll the virtues of a more artistic and expressive time in the history of hip-hop. Enjoy.

Why the Grammys Mean Jack...

2007-02-12T11:20:00.000-05:00

You guys won enough so that each of you get to hold one?...Get the @$#! outta here!

I couldn't even be bothered to watch this meaningless, self-congratulatory nonsense. Apparently, Mary won a bunch of Grammys...which is great, but considering I wouldn't put those award-winning songs in any sort of Best of Mary top ten (yes, children, Mary was also waaaaay better back in the day...deal with it) - well, at least she won. But Ludacris for rap album of the year (makes me say, "Oooucch") ? What, Jeezy wasn't nominated...
Musical taste aside, just to cement how irrelevant the Grammys truly are: the poster child for this year's awards were...the Dixie Chicks? Wow. What a powerful statement. It's nice to see the music industry fall in line with the agenda of rich, 'enlightened' (ahem...lily white) Hollywood-type liberals standing up to George Bush...at the END of his presidency. 'Eff' the TV show...you guys are the real 'heroes'.
Celebrating the Dixie Chicks is just a juvenile way of getting back at the country music fans who backlashed against these unlikely political sweethearts...seeing as it was these same yokels (the fans...not the 'Chicks') who were responsible for voting Bush in...two times!!(big shout out to Spike Lee) You know what entertainment industry: let it go. Just focus your efforts on Obama's campaign...I'm sure he'll appreciate the support. Cuz Hillary sure as hell ain't going down without a fight...