This is not a Blog

Return on a sad note

2007-03-26T23:00:00.000-04:00

We (the Royal we), are relaunching this blog as a more personal more eclectic place for me to vent. All the sports stuff can be found over at www.threedrunk.blogspot.com.

On that note i come with great sadness to say that i had to put my dog to sleep last thursday. It was unexpected, he went in to the vet to treat an eye infection and never came home. I am sad. It is really the first profound loss of my life. I'm not sure how to deal with something not being there after it had been there every day for the last 15 or so years. We you believe the things I believe death is a hard thing. Even harder when it is unexpected. And this was unexpected.

I have regrets. I regret not petting the dog when i went to work the day he went to the vet. I regret not going for more walks. I regret not being there when they had to put him down.

I thought i would feel better but i don't. Maybe that's not such a bad thing.

RANDOM NEW POST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2006-07-12T00:03:00.000-04:00

Random new post out of the blue, just to let everyone out there that i'm still here. That and Dwayne Wade decided not to take the max extension from the Heat, so he obviously wants to get out of Miami when the extension is up.

Picks 7-12

2006-04-25T17:52:00.000-04:00

7. Oakland Raiders

I think if A.J. Hawk was on the board here that's who the Raiders would pick. But he won't be here. And that leaves the Raiders with Vince Young. Word is that Al Davis loves Young and is looking to move up to the two spot to get him. In all likelihood Young or Leinart will be available in this spot. As a side note, I hear that Leinart's family are all huge Raiders fans, so if he pulls an Eli Manning to play in Oakland don't be surprised.

8. Buffalo Bills

This is a tough pick, I think anyone of three guys could go in this spot and fill a hole for the Bills. DT, DB, and OT are all needs that can be filled here. OT Winston Justice is moving up draft boards in the weeks before the draft, but I think this is too early for him. Its also too early to take either Jimmy Williams or Antonio Cromartie, who both have issues of their own.

That leaves DT Haloti Ngata. Has the size and strength to be another Sam Adams and clog the middle for the Bills.

9. Detroit Lions

This pick has to be on defense. If Michael Huff goes to the 49ers, the Lions might be screwed. They might look at Jimmy Williams, Winston Justice, or even Chad Greenway. I think the pick is Greenway because he's the best linebacker available, and the Lions NEED linebackers. Watch out for Santonio Holmes in this spot(just kidding Lions fan)

10. Arizona Cardinals
Kurt Warner is not the future in St. Louis, shit he's not even the present. This is the spot where the Cards take the QB of the future(who will turn into the QB they cut two seasons later). Jay Cutler gets the call here only because every team in the league has undervalued Omar Jacobs.

11. St. Louis Rams

The Rams need a TE and Vernon Davis is a physical freak. I don't think Davis will make it this far down (because I really think the 49ers will take him). But if he does, the Rams will snatch him up and make the steal of the draft. Christ the guy ran a 4.3 40 at the combine. Freak with a capital F.

12. Cleveland Browns

Ahh my Cleveland Browns (expect a full Browns draft preview later this week). This pick will most definitely be on the defensive side of the ball. The only thing to be determined is which position. Its either DT or DE. I think its going to be Broderick Bunkley, the DT out of Fla. St. I think the Browns are looking to move him to an end spot in the 3-4 and maybe move him back inside when Ted Washington retires. I think that is an excellent idea, he's got the speed to play on the end and needs time to develop some more thickness if he's going inside.

Another possibility is Kamerion Wimbley, who would probably rush off the edge for the Browns. Most people think that he can be a dynamic pass rusher like DeMarcus Ware was for the Cowboys. I'm not sold. Two months ago this kid was a third round draft pick, ESPN's Draft Guide had him rated as the 9th best DE. Lets just say I'm skeptical.

tomorrow 13-18

Mock Draft Picks 1-6

2006-04-24T18:30:00.000-04:00

Here is the first installment of my Round 1 mock draft. The first six picks, without predicting trades. Final pick is in BOLD

1. Houston Texans
The needs this team has to fill are at offensive tackle and at defensive end. The offensive line has been one of the worst year in and year out. Maybe if they can keep Carr on his feet, they can find out if there is any talent on offense. The defense is making the switch from the 3-4 to the 4-3. That means they need quality DE's to rush the passer.

Both of the these needs suggest that the pick is either; DE Mario Williams or OT D'Brickashaw Ferguseon. HOWeva (channeling Stephen A. Smith) the pick is going to be Reggie Bush, the consensus number 1 pick in this year. You all know my feelings on Bush and his future in the NFL, but I'm not making this pick. The smart thing to do would be to trade down and take D'Brickashaw and fill a hole that should have been filled years ago.

2. New Orleans Saints
With the signing of Drew Brees the Saints don't need to fill the hole at QB, this means they could go any number of directions with this pick. This is another spot where it makes sense for the team to trade out. Only because I don't think that the Saints can make a value pick at this spot. DE isn't a need, with Charles Grant and Will Smith on the roster, but I was always told that you don't draft for need in the first round. So the pick ends up being Mario Williams, the best player on the board.

With Williams, the Saints get depth at End and a guy who compares to Julius Peppers. Whether or not Williams ends up being that guy remains to be seen.

3. Tennessee Titans
The Titans have locked the door on veteran Steve McNair, which means that oft injured Billy Volek is the starting QB for the time being. The pick that makes the most sense is Matt Leinart, especially with former USC offensive Coordinator, Norm Chow, now running the offense in Tenn. Leinart is the most polished QB out of the top three and would probably be starting by the middle of the season.

Don't be surprised if the Titans go after A.J. Hawk in this spot to fill a big hole in the middle of their defense. After all Leinart may not be there at 3 and I don't know how sold the Titans are on Vince Young or Cutler.

4. N.Y. Jets
This team is on the downside and it doesn't look like its getting better anytime soon. Assuming that Leinart is off the board the pick is D'Brickashaw Ferguson. The Jets line is old and injured and Ferguson will go along way to protecting either Penington or Patrick Ramsey's backside.

5. Green Bay Packers
Lock this pick in if he's still there, A.J. Hawk. Hawk will line up outside and be a menace in the NFC North for a decade. Hawk may be the safest pick in this years draft. Solid pick for the Pack, even though they will still suck next year, (Sorry Andy)

6. San Francisco 49ers
Really a bad team with tons of holes, most of those holes can't be filled at this spot with value. I assume they don't want to give up on Alex Smith yet, so Vince Young is out. The team might lean towards an offensive weapon that would benefit Smith, like TE Vernon Davis. I personally aren't that high on him, nor do I think that the 49ers would be best served taking him here. I think the pick here is S Michael Huff . Huff can fill a hole at either safety or at CB. And would remind some in Frisco of a young Ronnie Lott (alright, that's a stretch).

that's it for now, tune in tomorrow for Picks 7-12.

No Title just words

2006-04-20T00:10:00.000-04:00

All next week will be posts leading up to this year's NFL draft. The draft is like Christmas for me, just without Jesus. Well kind of all my Christmases are without Jesus, but whatever.

I did find out that Columbia will be filming scenes for Spiderman 3 on Euclid in front of my Apartment. Which is will hopefully lead to someone finally washing my windows. I can only imagine how bad traffic is going to be on Friday when this thing kicks off.

On a lighter note someone got stabbed on a trolley outside of my apartment two days ago. The strangest thing was watching the fire dept. Wash the blood off the sidewalk and then a few minutes later people walking over that spot without ever knowing that there was a pool of blood there. Makes you wonder what you've been stepping in.

Spider babies, AHHHHHHHH!!!!!

2006-04-05T23:56:00.000-04:00

Shoot the J! Shoot IT!

2006-03-22T00:00:00.000-05:00

I came across this earlier on Deadspin and not it's all over the place. But i'm going with it anyways.

Carlos Boozer is suing Prince(yes, the purple one) for unlawful detainer (unlawful detainer amounts to breach of your lease). Apparently Prince was renting Boozer's West Hollywood home for a number of months at a rate of $70,000/month. As if Booz wasn't stealing enough from the Utah Jazz.

While staying in the home Prince made some "minor" modifications to the home. These modifications included painting purple stripping on the exterior, and the Prince symbol. There was also some purple carpet added to the master bedroom. Needless to say C Booz and his wife CeCe were pissed, (actual she was probably the one who was, pissed because she's the one who makes the decisions).

This whole story is filled with lunacy, the boys over at Deadspin seem astonished by the fact that Booz would be renting his home to the Purple One. But it all makes sense when you consider some other stories floating around about Prince.

There is, of course the infamous episode of Chappelle's show where Charlie Murphy plays Prince in a game of basketball (where Prince is crossing dudes like Iverson). And then there is; An Evening with Kevin Smith, a series of talks that Smith gave at various colleges. In one of these talks Smith starts talking about his experience filming a documentary about Prince that never gets released. So Smith starts talking about how much Prince loves basketball. It's starting to come together isn't it.

Prince loves him some fucking hoops!

The only question I have is why rent the house from Boozer. There have to be other balles out there renting homes that haven't stolen from a blind man.

http://www.deadspin.com/sports/nba/do-not-paint-carlos-boozers-house-purple-161850.php
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0320063prince1.html

Slept on Album of the week

2006-03-21T17:08:00.000-05:00

I think i'm going to start running weekly items, it just makes it easier to come up with shit to write about. So, once a week i'll throw up a post about an album that i think people don't listen to enough.

The D.O.C.- No One Can Do It Better

This album dropped in '89 and by now has gone platinum, but still no one talks about it as a classic. It is certainly unknown amongst casual hip-hop fans, and even slept on by people who consider themselves heads.

The D.O.C. is up there with Ice Cube as the most lyrical of all West Coast MC's, and all of that talent is on display on this album. In my opinion D.O.C.'s flow is flawless, along the lines of Rakim(but not quite that good). This album also has the one and only Dr. Dre on the boards. Dre turns in one of his best production efforts ever (besides the Chronic). This album is like Dre's missing link, it is that bridge between Dre's production for NWA and the groundbreaking production on the Chronic.

Unfortunately this was the last album that D.O.C. dropped. He was involved in a car accident that sent him through the windshield of the car and severed his vocal chords. D.O.C. is still hanging with Dre, some say that he even ghost writes for Dre, but who knows about that. Either way this is a slept on classic.

For real a women's hoops post

2006-03-15T23:34:00.000-05:00

This the first time and most definitely the last time i post about women's basketball. The seedings for the women's tournament were announced on monday, and your BGSU women's baskeball team was seeded 12th in the tough Cleveland Region. (The first time that i heard that there was a regional final at the Q was on Tuesday, to say the least its underpublicized.)

The Bowling Green Falcons finished the regular season 28-2, and perfect in conference (only the third team to do it in the history of the MAC) won the regular season and conference tournament. They finished ranked number 22 in the country, and they get a 12 seed? When the final poll says that there are only 21 better teams in the country, how is it that the tourney seeding committee thinks that there are at least 44 ! better teams? That just doesn't make sense to me.

But, thats not where it ends. The Falcons were placed in the Cleveland regional, which many experts think is the toughest. In the first round the Falcons have to play 5 seed UCLA. Who finished ranked 23rd in the country, one spot BEHIND the Falcons. Fuck that shit, the Falcons are getting screwed. This would piss me off more if it wasn't women's hoops, but still.

I'll be back with more when i return from Ft. Wayne, IN on friday.

Are two "regular" footlong subs really 6 inches?

2006-03-15T23:27:00.000-05:00

So this is the first point in about a month. What can i say? I'm a busy man, that and my computer took a huge crap. The last post on Klosterman's question was put there to elicit responses, which it didn't. Thank you readers.

In the future the blog will most likely resume its prior form of mostly sports posts with the occasional random column sprinkled in.

The merits of the CFL

2006-02-10T11:37:00.000-05:00

Chuck Klosterman lists 23 questions that he asks everyone he meets. Here are five that i thought were interesting. If you read the questions you have to answer them.

1. Let us assume you meet a rudimentary magician. He can only do five simple tricks, pull a rabbit out of a hat, make a quarter disappear, turn the ace of spades into the joker, etc. These are the only tricks that he can do, and he can't learn anymore. However, it turns out that he is doing these tricks with real magic, it is not an illusion. He's legitimately magical, but limited in scope and influence. Would this person be more impressive than Albert Einstein?

2. Let us assume a fully grown completely healthy clydesdale horse has his hooves shackled to the ground while his head is held in place with a thick rope. He is conscious and standing upright, but completely immobile. Assume that every political prisoner on earth will be released from captivity if you can kick this horse to death in 20 min. You are allowed to wear steel toed boots. Would you attempt this?

3. Genetic engineers have developed a super gorilla. The animal cannot speak but it has a sign language vocabulary of over 12,000 words, it has an IQ of around 85 and it has a sense of self awareness. The animal (who weighs 700 lbs.) has developed a fascination with football. The gorilla aspires to play professionally and quickly develops into a rudimentary defensive end. Mel Kiper Jr. says that the gorilla is virtually unblockable and would record almost 6 sacks a game. However, the gorilla might be susceptible to draws, counters and other trick plays. The gorilla has made it clear that he would never intentionally injure his opponent. You are the commissioner of the NFL: Would you allow the gorilla to sign with the Oakland Raiders?

4. Every person you have ever slept with is invited to a banquet in your honor. No one will be in the room except you, the collection of your former lovers, and the catering staff. After the meal, you are asked to give a fifteen minute speech to the assembly. What do you talk about?

5. Your best friend is taking a nap on the floor of your living room. Suddenly you are faced with a bizarre existential problem: This friend is going to die unless you kick them as hard as you can in the ribs. If you don't kick them they will never wake up. However, you can never tell them the true reason that you kicked them because they would die from that as well. So you have to kick your sleeping friend in the ribs and you can't tell them why. Since you can't tell your friend the truth, what excuse will you fabricate to explain this attack?

Super Bowl rap up

2006-02-06T15:32:00.000-05:00

This isn't going to be about the Super Bowl or the refs, its going to be about Steeler fans.

Here is a link to an ESPN message board thread that was started by steelers fans after the Super Bowl.
http://forums.espn.go.com/espn/thread?forumID=821&threadID=3133568&lastPostID=19274674

If the link stops working for some reason the title of the thread is "Steelers haters are ni****s"
The thread starter proceeds to rip the Seahawks and drop another n-bomb. Thread starter also started another thread with similar language.

Taken with other recent actions of Steeler fans, (the belittling of a high school student by his teacher for wearing an Elway jersey, the abuse of Tommy Maddox's children, throwing things on his lawn, etc...). I'm going out on a limb and saying that Steeler fans may be the most hateful uneducated fans in the NFL.

What is more surprising is that ESPN allows that sort of language on its message boards. Now i'm never one for limiting speech, but that type of speech has no place on a message board run by ESPN.

Last game of the season, can't hold anything back.

2006-02-05T02:32:00.000-05:00

My pick for the Super Bowl is the Steelers. God hates me so the Steelers are a lock to win. Man, I hope that the entire city falls into either one of the three rivers.

Huge potential for this game to be a blowout, how often are Super Bowls close. Steelers 42-27.

There is no god.

All next week, non-sports posts!!!

Counting is fun!

2006-01-12T22:21:00.000-05:00

Here's a billboard from LSU and Texas fans at Onepeat.com.

Open Season

2006-01-12T21:13:00.000-05:00

The end of the regular season in the NFL usually brings about mass firings or resignations at the head coaching positions for teams that have underachieved in the past season. The end of this season has been exceptionally busy at the chopping block. Already, there have been ten head coaching vacancies created through firing or resignation. Time for hardcore analysis of the situation.

Buffalo Bills- Head coach Mike Mularkey resigned today only weeks after he had a sit down with Bills owner Ralph Wilson. Mularkey clearly underachieved this year after a near playoff run last year. But was it really all that unexpected. The team turned the reins over to an unproven near rookie QB, and lost Takeo Spikes early in the season. How many games do you expect to win when Kelley Holcomb and J.P. Losman are splitting time at QB? Early favorite to replace Mularkey is former Bill, and one of Ralph Wilson's favorite players, Jim Haslett.

Detroit Lions- Fired Steve Marriucci half way through the season and turned the team over to Dick Jaroun. Mooch may or may not have been effective but he clearly wasn't the biggest problem in Detroit. How Matt Millen still has a job is anyone's guess. How can you select receiver in the first round of three straight drafts? Is there a monkey running the draft board? Does Matt Millen have naked photos of William Clay Ford in a Toyota? What gives, fire the man already. The Lions seem interested in Steelers assistant coach Russ Grimm.

Green Bay Packers- Some what surprisingly fired Mike Sherman after the team was decimated by injury. Here's my feeling on Sherman and coaches like him; good enough to win more games than they lose but not good enough to win it all. Mike Sherman was never going to outcoach anyone. Still, he probably shouldn't have been fired this year. The Packers went out and hired former 49ers offensive coordinator Mike McCarthy. Whose 49er offense was ranked dead last in the league. This hiring makes less sense than firing Sherman. There is only one explanation. He's VERY close with Brett Favre.

Houston Texans- Fired Dom Capers after a truly miserable season that is brightened by the fact that they have the number one pick in the draft. The problem with the Texans is the same problem that has existed for their entire history; they can't block anyone. If the Texans wanted to ein more games next year they would trade the number one pick and take D'Brickshaw Ferguseon. But that doesn't sell tickets and therefore won't happen.

Kansas City Chiefs- Dick Vermeil retired, again. And cried, again. They replace him with Herm Edwards, good move. But does it really matter if they can't find someone to play defense.

New York Jets- Obviously Herm Edwards leaving creates and opening. The name that keeps coming up is New England D-Coordinator Eric Mangini. He is a guy that I wanted to come with Romeo Crennel to Cleveland to become the D-Coordinator here. If the Jets get him it will be a good hire, but Mangini may not take the job because it is a horrible job. Horrible job. Bring back Pete Carroll and let him get fired again.

Minnesota Vikings- what a year for the Vikes the Whizzanator, the sex cruise, Fred Smoot and the double dong. And then they righted the ship so to speak. But they missed the playoffs and Mike Tice got canned. Tice is in the same boat as Mike Sherman, he wasn't going to out coach anyone and on some occasions was going to cost his team games. The Vikings made the right choice by firing him now, why wait. They have hired Philly O-Coordinator Brad Childress. The only thing that bugs me about Childress is he doesn't run the ball enough. They gave Brian Westbrook that fat contract and barely used him.

The New Orleans Saints- Say what you will about the year the Saints had, it was almost impossible for them to be successful. But none the less Jim Haslett got canned. It should have happened two seasons ago. This team has consistently underachieved, there is enough talent on the Saints for them to contend for a playoff spot. Their inability to even come close rests with Jim Haslett. And the fact that he is being considered for a number of other head coaching vacancies boggles the mind. Didn't they see the job he did in NO? Why do guys like him continue to get jobs? Can i have a job?, I can underachieve with that talent too. Sounds like Mo Carthon is headed to the NO, which would be great for me. The man cannot call an offensive game, horrible coodinator.

Oakland Raiders- Fired Norv Turner, should have never hired him. He's another guy who shouldn't have got another job. The Raiders quit on Norv in the middle of the season, he's not a good coach. It's Al Davis running the show, so who knows what direction they will go. James Lofton's name has been mentioned.

St. Louis Rams- Finally they fired Mike Martz, only after he nearly died. Here's a case like Norv Turner, good Offensive Coordinator bad head coach. I think Martz was overwhelmed by the situation most of the time. He clearly was a poor at making adjustments and game management, but dame could he chuck it around the field.

So that is everyone who got canned this year. I don't expect many more firing this season but you never know. Someone may pop loose. Maybe a Jeff Fisher in Tennessee(who the Browns should have made a run at). Surprisingly there are hardly any college names being mentioned as replacements, Kirk Ferentz said he's going back Iowa. So the names being thrown around are all the names of the guys who got fired, go figure.

An explanation of sorts

2006-01-05T22:58:00.000-05:00

The post Rose Bowl entry came off a bit vitriolic, so i think it deserves an explanation of my distaste for all things USC. To be honest a lot of it is hyperbole, but most of it is a reaction to the hype machine that is ESPN and the national media. I'm a bit of a contrarian so if an argument is one sided i'll take the other side to explore the possibilities, nothing is ever as simple as black and white.

ESPN has been running the hype machine at full force for this USC team since last year's Orange Bowl was over. It seems these days that ESPN is always looking for something to be the greatest of all time, just so we can hype it as much. Is this the greatest team?, is he the greatest player?, was that the greatest game?

Did ESPN really run a weak long piece on whether this USC team was the greatest of all time, and they came out third. Does that mean that they have to do that all over again with Texas. This is more of a beef with ESPN, but they have no sense of history prior to their existence. Most of those 11 teams were from the last 15 years. College football has a long history that predates ESPN.

The style of football that USC plays bugs the hell out of me as well. Play some damned defense. This is the same reason i couldn't stand the Rams team that was the greatest show on turf. There's enough talent in California to find some players who can play defense. And they play in the Pac 10 which has no idea on how to play defense.

My opinions on Reggie Bush are in part a reaction to the media's anointing of him as the savior and my opinion of him as RB at the next level. People talk like Reggie Bush has a place in Canton all set aside for himself, when he hasn't proven a thing on sunday. KiJanna Carter and Desmond Howard were both excellent college players but neither has a bust in Canton.
On the other hand i'm not sure that Reggie Bush can be an everydown back on the next level. There was a reason that Pete Carroll decided to give the ball to LenDale White on 4th and 2, he knows that Bush isn't big enough or strong enough to pound that ball into to the middle of the line. Imagine what it will be like at the next level when the D-Line is bigger and stronger.

don't get me wrong, there are alot of good NFL running backs that don't pound the ball. But there aren't a lot of GREAT ones that didn't pound.

So that's it, my distaste for USC. Partially overblown because of the media's neverending hype, but mostly genuine distaste. And do i need a better reason than Nick Lachey roots for them?

Hey Sean Salisbury do you like apples?

2006-01-05T00:26:00.000-05:00

The time is 12:26 EST. and USC still sucks.

The National Title game was probably the second best college football game i have ever seen. I will say that the performance that Vince Young put on tonight is in the top 3 performances in a college football game of all time. He was without a doubt the best player on the field tonight. In fact if he enters the draft, and why wouldn't he, he should be the first player taken. Further explanation of that at a later post.

So, if Vince Young was the best player on the field Reggie Bush must have been the second best right? I, mean he's got a bust in Canton already. Matter of factly Reggie Bush was at best the fourth best player on the field, behind Young, LenDale White, and Leinhart.

They say great players show up big in big games. This was a big game, where was Reggie Bush? White and Leinhart showed up. Bush showed me nothing to change my opinion that he will be a quality return man in the NFL. He's not even Marshall Faulk let alone Gale Sayers. If LenDale White can get himself in shape, he can be a better back in the NFL. Wasn't it odd that when USC needed yards to salt away the clock that White was in the game and not Bush?

Memo to ESPN, maybe you should wait till USC wins the national title before you run the "Is USC 2005 the greatest team of all time?" segments. You know what is worse, that all the talking heads at ESPN thought this team was the greatest of all time. Shit, Mark May had them beating Miami's 02 team. That Miami team had more talent on it than the Houston Texans and would have pounded this USC team. You wanna know why this USC team wouldn't have been in the top 15 teams of all time even if they had one, they play no defense. Not a lick. Texas had one weapon all night and USC had no answer. Horrible defense.

Pete Carroll's decision to go for it on 4th and 1 shows why he got fired twice in the NFL.

Hey Sean, how you like them apples?

The Year ender

2005-12-31T14:46:00.000-05:00

Its new years eve so i decided to throw down on the five best albums of the year. Truth be told these are all hip-hop albums because rock hasn't produced something substantial since the late 90's. So here we go, in reverse rder for dramatic effect.

Honorable Mention

Felt 2 (Murs & Slug)- Tribute to Lisa Bonet
West Coast Album that was decent, but the subject matter keeps it on the honorable mention list.

Public Enemy- New Whirl Odor
PE has a place on any best of list. (I feel like i've said that before) Hip-hop desperately needs the conscious voice of Chuck D these days. I hope they keep dropping albums and find some better production

Lil Wayne- Tha Carter II
I downloaded this album chopped and screwed, which i can't stand. But still you can hear the skill of Weezy F Baby on the mic. Eventually i'll check this one out unchopped and screwed.

The List
5. Blackalicious- The Craft
Gift of Gab and Chief XL continue to cross musical boundaries. This is one of the more daring albums of the year. The only thing that keeps this album from being higher is that there are some lack luster songs, Powers is not a song that i like to hear repeatedly.

4. Kanye West- Late Registration
Musically this is the best album of the year. However Kanye West is not the best MC on the planet, but he doesn't have to be. No one says that the Chronic isn't a great album because Dre isn't a good MC. Kanye's raps don't detract from the album so it goes almost unnoticed. Add some stellar guest appearances to the production and you have the third best album of the year. The album has possible two of the best songs of the year, Diamonds are Forever and We Major.

3. Common- Be
There isn't a poorly produced song on this album, Kanye and Dilla craft excellent beats and Common is once again flawless on the mic. What holds this album back is its length, it needed one more track and one more verse on Testify. Some say this is a return to form for Common after Electric Circus, i think Electric Circus is underrated and misundedrstood, but whatever.

2. Little Brother- The Minstrel Show
Most soulful album of the year. Lyrically its a fantastic album, the only problem is 9th Wonder's production. The drums get boring at spots, now that's nit picking, but when you get to the top two spots that's what separates.

1. DangerDoom- The Mouse and the Mask
Most entertaining album of the year by far. There is no soft spot in this album in wither production or lyrics. If you haven't hear this album yet, stop what you are doing and go buy it. Now, don't wait, run don't walk to the store to pick this one up.

Non-hip-hop album of the year.
Green Day- American Idiot
Pointed social commentary combined with kick-ass punk.

Return of the Boom Bap

2005-12-27T18:19:00.000-05:00

This is the first Post in some two weeks. Its been a busy two weeks, so yall can kiss my ass. I finally finished my note. It is entitled "Should Age Limits be Sacked? Not a slam dunk case." It is on the title vii violations of the NFL and NBA's age limit. I think it is a stirring read, though there are some citation errors but there is nothing i can do about that now. If you want to read the note in its 28 page entirety leave a shout out in the comments.

The Randomness of things

2005-12-07T14:59:00.000-05:00

(Via Deadspin) If you are a Cingular Wireless subscriber you can get a free Dallas Maverick ringtone. http://www.vibes.com/mavericks/ringtones.asp. They aren't really tones so much as they are Mavericks players telling you to pick up the phone. You've got to check out what Dirk Nowitzki says in his. It's on of the most random things, and hilarious. If i had a Cingular phone this would mos def be my ringer. I wonder if Doug Christie's says that he answers the phone everytime his wife calls, or else. DANG, What a Circus. Gong Show!

Fantasy Football is a bunch of bullshit.

Here's another link. http://www.sohh.com/articles/article.php/7965. Former wrestler Diamond Dallas Page is suing Jay-Z for trademark infringement, for use of the diamond sign that both entertainers use. Back when i used to watch wrestling we called Page, "Dark Dirty Poop", or "Dirty Dark Poop", either way the guy was a piece of crap who looked like he spent too much time in a tanning bed. Now he's looking to get a piece of Hov. "Ask Nas you don't want it with Hov. NOoooooo." Maybe his yoga book isn't doing as well as he thought it would. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1594740798/
qid=1133987733/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-7006873-1858331?n=507846&s=books&v=glance

Why did the Dark Dirty one write a yoga book anyways? The only people who know who he is haven't seen their dicks is five years, and can't reach their ass to scratch it, let alone do yoga. Shouldn't he, or someone, realized that the target demographic for this book can't do yoga? Out of all the people who watch wrestling there's about 5 who could do yoga, and I know three of them and they aren't going to buy this book.

And Rob Zombie wrote the foreword. Now there's a guy who shouldn't be writing a health book. He looks like he died three weeks ago.

Fantasy Football sucks

Its finals time at the old law school so these posts will be sparse over the next two weeks. I know, it sucks. But all two of you who read this will have to make due.

But i did finish my note, on the potential Title VII violations of the NBA and NFL's age restrictions. Holla at me if you want to read it.
The NBA is racist.

Reggie Bush

2005-11-29T23:58:00.000-05:00

Here's a quick hitter on Reggie Bush. I might be the only one in the country not sold on this kid. I did watch the 500 yrd. game he put up against Fresno St., in fact i watched every snap. And watching that game it seemed like he could get yards any time he wanted to against that defense, but alas it was Fresno St. and they did just lose to Nevada. (Still 500 yrds. of total offense is sick).

Here's what worries me about him on the next level, ability to run inside. I've watched a surprising number of USC games in the last three years and he doesn't like to work inside. The USC media guide lists him as 6' 200 lbs. and we all know that schools exaggerate in their media guides. What is it going to be like in the NFL when there are linebackers that are nearly as fast and he can't beat them to the edge? He's not going to run over anyone. I think he's a good receiver and a good running back but i don't think he's great at either. He could create match-up problems in the NFL as well as being a great returner, but i don't think he'll be a great running back, i think that LenDale White will be a better running back in the pros than Bush.

Now this argument may be based on the fact that i hate USC or that i have nothing to lose by making the argument. If i'm wrong about Bush then so what, but if i'm right then i can tell everyone i knew Reggie Bush was going to be a bust. I'm not saying that either of those two reasons are true, i'm just putting them out there.

In Other News

Rapper 50 Cent wants to produce a vibrator that is molded from his penis. How gangsta is that, the internet is gonna go nuts. He says he wants his female fans to be able to pretend to have sex with him. Oh and its going to be blue.
http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2005/11/29/
50_cents_wants_you_to_feel_the_love

Guess who's back?

2005-11-29T00:27:00.000-05:00

I realize that i have a blog and nothing has been posted since last wednesdy. But that's what happens to me around Thanksgiving especially when i've got a note hanging around my neck. There will be some posts of substance added eventually. Hopefully i can post my note at the end of the week. Until then R.I.P. Mr. Myagi.

That U

2005-11-23T20:59:00.000-05:00

Here is something i caught on Deadspin. (www.Deadspin.com) By now some of you have heard about the explicit rap song that was recorded by the University of Miami football team two years ago. For those who haven't the football team recoded a nine minute rap song about two years ago that deals mostly with a gang bang. A link was posted on a blog by a University of Miami student. (www.miamity.com) The student received some flak from other students after the media ran with this story. After, Miami's loss on saturday the University has decided that the student can no longer live in on campus housing. This is a affront to everything that the 1st Amendment stands for, write to the university and tell them to let the student back in. Here is the link to the dean of students contact information http://www.miami.edu/UMH/CDA/UMH_Main/0,1770,2415-1;29082-3,00.html.
Deadspin also has the Dean's email. So hit it up get the kid back his housing.

Lou Holtz

2005-11-22T00:18:00.000-05:00

I found this Holtz quote on some other blog, its Holtz commenting on the Ohio- Michigan rivalry

"Ohio and Michigan are the only two states to go to war against each other... In the 1860's, over some kind of border dispute. History doesn't record who won, but I have to assume Michigan did, because I highly doubt we'd fight to keep Toledo"

HHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA, Toledo sucks. Lou Holtz smacking Toledo is one of the funniest things i've ever seen.

This is story is sort of true, Holtz has the jist of the story correct. Here's a link to the full story.
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/toledo-war.htm

Hail to the Victors?

2005-11-21T23:17:00.000-05:00

So caught my first Michigan- Ohio State game on Saturday. It was an experience to say the least.
First off the Big House is deceptive in its size. The place fits around 111,000 people but from the last row of the stadium its not that far to the field. That means that everyone has pretty good seats. The bad news is that you better like your neighbor because he'll be sitting in your lap by the time the game hits halftime.

Here's another thing that bugged me about the stadium, there's only one exit in each section. That wouldn't be bad if the sections were small. The stadium is one large bowl, with only one level. This means that each section was huge, about 70 rows of 20 seats. Now the problem with this is that people tend to get up and try to leave at the same time, either at half time or at the end of the game. This causes what can only be described as a human traffic jam. I waited about 30 min. Just to get from my seats to the exit. There has got to be a better way to do this. I understand that the stadium is old and that the majority of it is underground,but come on. Some of those allegedly brilliant engineers over at U of M can figure something out.

As for the game itself, the fact that it will be replayed on ESPN Classic as an instant classic says a lot. It was a tremendous game that shouldn't have been as close as the score. There is no reason that Michigan should have ever close to the lead in that game. The Buckeyes dominated on both sides of the ball, handily at that. The Michigan running game was held to less than 50 yrds. Rushing. Chad Henne showed no signs of being any better than John Navarre.

So, how did this game get decided in the last minutes when it was so thoroughly dominated by the Buckeyes. The answer special teams and defense. Ohio State tried to give this game to Michigan, who didn't know what to do with it.

The Buckeyes lost two fumbles that lead to 10 Michigan points. Another Michigan scoring drive came off a horrible A.J. Trappasso punt, i'll cut him some slack since the kick was into a strong wind(but 18 yards, that's shameful). Here's some more evidence of the Wolverine's good fortune; three of their four scoring drives were under 40 yards, Ted Ginn fumbled two punts that cost the Buckeye's serious chunks of yardage, not to mention the Buckeye's missed an extra point and a field goal (where have you gone Mike Nugent?) Not that any of that should be held against the Wolverines.

When you make mistakes like that you are supposed to lose, and John Cooper would have lost. But the Wolverines crapped the bed on this one. They mounted one real drive all day, 11 plays, 69 yards that ended in a Garrett Rivas field goal. This also was the only time that the Michigan offense crossed mid-field on its own. On most days this would have been a blowout Ohio State victory, mistakes kept the game close. But what else do you expect from an OSU- Michigan game.

All in all it was a beautiful day to watch a football game. And it was one of the better games i've ever seen. There's nothing like the deafening silence of 100,000 people who can't believe they lost. Again.

When does the fire Lloyd Carr talk start, has it started already and i wasn't told? The guy recruits well and is always keeping his team in the Big 10 race. Is it enough that he's lost 4 of 5 to OSU and is 2-7 in his last 9 against OSU and Notre Dame? He did win a fake national title in '97. (There are no legitimate co-national champions, its a contradiction in terms, but that's a whole other column.) How long do you let him hang around? OSU let John Cooper go 2-10-1 against Michigan. I don't think U of M will wait that long. (Wouldn't it be really ironic if they went after Butch Davis? )

Week 11 in the National Football League

2005-11-18T15:40:00.000-05:00

Here's your week 11 picks given to you this time while I'm awake.

Arizona at St. Louis
The Cardinals cannot run the ball, absolutely no running game whatsoever. This killed one of my fantasy teams this year. (DAMN YOU J.J. Arrington). St. Louis does enough at home on the turf to beat the Cards, especially since Mike Martz has been de facto fired.

Carolina at Chicago
Surprisingly good game this week. At the beginning of the year i bet no one thought this would be a good game. Thomas Jones is coming back this week but that is still not enough to beat a team that looks like the best in the NFC. Panthers win in a close game.

Detroit at Dallas
The Joey Harrington revival comes to a stop on the road. By the way what happened to Kevin Jones, he sharing carries with Artose Pinner and Shawn Bryson. Not a good sign in Detroit. Cowboys either win this one big or lose because karma catches up with them for winning a game they shouldn't have last week. I say karma is a week late and the Boys win this one.

Indy at Cincinnati
Its gonna be cold in Cincy, and the Colts are a dome team that doesn't play well in the cold. Yea but its still the Bengals who have exactly one win over a team with a winning record. Colts defense carries them to a win on the road. However, they cannot stop Chad Johnson or his dancing.

Jacksonville at Tennessee
Titans are horrible as evidenced by their loss to the Browns. Jags force a bunch of turnovers and get the win.

Miami at Cleveland
Home game in the cold for the Browns. Dolphins are notorious for playing crappy in cold weather so Browns win on the strength of the weather. Braylon Edwards better be starting, because the only thing that Dennis Northcut is catching is feelings.

New Orleans at New England
Pats D is bad against the run and the pass so this game will be close but i don't trust Aaron Brooks on the road. Usually he makes huge mistakes but still puts up numbers this year he hasn't even put up numbers. Pats win

Oakland at Washington
I still don't understand how this Redskins team wins games. I understand that their defense is well above average but that offense is not good. They've got Mark Brunell at quarterback and only one decent receiver. Raiders find a way to win in spite of having Norv Turner as a head coach. I think Norv gets canned at the end of the year.

Philly at Giants
Giants win, come on they're not starting Mike McMahhon. I don't want to hear about how athletic he is or how strong he is. He's got one of the worst completion percentage in the history of the league. And when you can't run the ball and he's your quarterback you're not in good shape. The Giants bounce back from a freak loss to the Vikings last week.

Tampa Bay at Atlanta
Who knows? Maybe if the Bucs can find a running game they win. Atlanta's sliding in the wrong direction.

Seattle at San Francisco
I'm jumping on the Seahawks bandwagon right now. They've been pounding people all year. Clearly one of the two best teams in the NFC.

Buffalo at San Diego
When i said in this space last week that the Bills wouldn't win the rest of the year, that was assuming that Kelly Holcomb would be their QB. He got hurt and they won, the trend does not continue, Bolts are too much on offense.

Jets at Denver
I'm watching this Denver team waiting for the collapse. When is Jake Plummer going to implode, when is Courtney Brown going to get hurt, when is Gerrard Warren going to stop playing? These things may not happen. But i think they will, and i'll think it'll happen at an inopportune time. Just not this week, the Jets may be the second worst team in the NFL.

Pittsburgh at Baltimore
Another team in the running for worst team in the NFL. At least i can say about the Browns season is that they are better than the Ravens. As for this game i hope the stadium implodes and i hope that Art Modell is in it.

K.C. at Houston
Texans get their second win of the year. The Chiefs continue to unravel on their way to a 7-9 record. I guess Jaws can throw out that Chief's Super Bowl Blueprint now. Dick Vermil cries.

Minnesota at Green Bay
Dare I say that the Vikings have righted the ship? ( i'm not sure if i've made that joke already, i am sure that it's not very funny but i don't care) I'm gonna go with Favre on Monday night in Green Bay where it feels like the Antarctic already.

That's it for the weekend i'll be up in Ann Arbor for the OSU-Meeeeechigan game. Back with full highlights on Monday as well as that P.Diddy shit.

Poorledo

2005-11-17T00:12:00.000-05:00

Poorledo tonight to NIU, that makes me smile. Also, Bowling Green beat Miami in Oxford last night after a 2 1/2 hr. delay. Sometime during the game ESPN 2 switched to a college basketball game. Why would they switch to college basketball? There isn't a more meaningless regular season than college basketball. Everyone gets into the tournament, so you're only playing for seeding in the regular season. That's why college basketball sucks, wake me up in March.

Poorledo sucks.

As a follow up to the Sony/BMG story, the company has recalled all CD's that contain the copy protection software. So send that shit back if you bought it from Sony.

Diddy is a punk.

The Old Ball Coach

2005-11-14T12:21:00.000-05:00

There was talk over the winter when Notre Dame was searching for a football coach about how ND had fallen off and how it wasn't the same place it was 15 yrs. ago. There were even those haters who celebrated the fact that Urban Meyer spurned Notre Dame, allegedly his dream job, for the sunny skies of Florida.

Well not only does it look like ND made a better hire than Meyer, with Charlie Weiss. It also looks like Florida hired the wrong guy in Meyer. The Old Ball Coach, Steve Spurrier, punked Florida and Meyer on Saturday in Columbia. Spurrier beat Florida with less talent and Lou Holtz's players. Meyer's spread isn't working in Gainsville. Some even feel like its time for Meyer to take his "gimmick offense" back to the Mountain West. The folks at www.firecoachmeyers.com feel like its time for Meyers to go.

All I'm saying is that the celebratin at the demise of Notre Dame might have been premature.

Sony/BMG

2005-11-14T12:08:00.000-05:00

Recently Sony/BMG incorporated a Digital Rights Managment system on some of its CD's to prevent the purchaser from copying the CD's. This created a problem when viruses and trojans were using the software as a disguise to infect people's computers. The DRM comes with a "rootkit" which is a cloaking device that allows hackers hide harmful files on your computer.

Multiple lawsuits have been filed in Europe and the States against Sony by people who's computers have been infected because the rootkit that came with a CD made their computers vulnerable. http://www.out-law.com/page-6332

Here is an article about what the End-User License Agreement, that comes with these CD's says. Keep in mind that the agreement is 3,000 words long and is agreed to by the consumer if they don't return the CD upon reading the agreemnt. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/004145.php
I'm not sure if this would hold up in court on an unconscionable charge, but its disturbing none the less.

The point of all this is don't buy Sony CD's. There is a list out there of what CD's contain this technology. The list isn't long maybe 20 CD's but i wouldn't buy anything from Sony or its sublabels.

Week 10

2005-11-13T01:01:00.000-05:00

I'm getting some feedback from people that they would like to see less sports and more of other subjects. So that's what we're going to go with, just not today.

Your NFL picks.

Arizona at Detroit
Take the Lions at home. Detroit fans come to realize that the choice between Garcia and Harrington isn't as bad as the choice between Warner and McCown.

Baltimore at Jacksonville
When the return of Kyle Boller is supposed to energize the offense something is horribly wrong. Ravens can't do anything on offense and can't win this game.

Houston at Indy
Who's on tap for Indy next week, Temple?

Kansas City at Buffalo
Kelly Holcomb's magic dust is starting to wear off. Bills won't win the rest of the year.

Minnesota at Ny Giants
I would take the giant's offense against the Viking's defense any day.

New England at Miami
Rebound game for the Pats not good for the dolphins

Frisco at Chicago
49ers are real bad REAL bad. The bears gotta pretty good team for playing with a rookie under center

Washington at Tampa
Bucs rebound, get a win against a skins team that might be on the decline.

Denver at Oakland
I don't understand why the Raiders don't run the ball more. But i also don't understand why Norv Turner is a head coach in the NFL. Broncos win Jake Plummer better have a good day.

Jets at Carolina
Panthers all day, might pitch a shut out against a bad Jets offense.

Green Bay at Atlanta
Mike Vick still can't throw, but he can still win games and that's all that matters. Packers are starting a running back who didn't start in college. This can't be good for their chances.

St. Louis at Seattle
I bet the Seahawks find a way to lose this game. The Rams have gotten on a semi-roll since Martz went down (I don't think that is a coincidence). So, i'm going with the Rams.

Cleveland at Pittsburgh
Steelers suck and so does Charlie Batch. I think the 8 points the Browns are getting is too much because Charlie Batch is starting. I'm going out on a limb and taking the Browns to win outright. What did you expect me to take the Steelers to win this game?

Dallas at Philly
No matter what Donovan McNabb says the team is not better on the field than it was two weeks ago. This is the week that the wheels start to come off the bus that is the Eagles season. Cowboys on the road.

I wrote half that post last night and fell asleep while typing so it might be incoherent, be back later with why sony is the devil.

Ralph Nader and T.O.

2005-11-11T03:31:00.000-05:00

Terrell Owens found an unlikely ally today in the fight to get back on the field. Ralph Nader sent a letter to Eagles management asking that they put T.O. back on the field. Here's the link
http://www.nader.org/template.php?/archives/210-In-Defense-of-Terrell-Owens-Letter-to-Jeffrey-Lurie-and-Paul-Tagliabue.html#extended

Nader states that the suspension goes against this nations history of Free Speech protection. Now I am a BIG Nader guy, voter for him in presidential elections even. But, private employers don't have to protect anyone's free speech, I think that Nader knows this and just wants the Eagles to go with the spirit of the amendment. Still there are far greater afronts to free speech than what the Eagles did to Owens. There are far, far more worthy ideas that have been muted by private entities than what Owens said. So I am gonna have to disagree with Ralph on this one. Maybe Ralph is an Eagles fan.

Self titled debut post

2005-11-09T23:49:00.000-05:00

Coming up with the appropriate title is always the hardest thing for me.

I went 11-3 in the NFL picks this week. If gambling were only that easy.

A debate arose on the message boards of Allhiphop.com today about the merits of file sharing, or for those without a computer, bootlegging. (I've lived in Cleveland all my life and downtown for a couple months and have never seen anyone bootlegging tapes on the street.) The argument against went like, if you really love the music and want to support the artist then you won't bootleg because it takes money out of the pockets of the artist.

One might counter by saying that none of the artists are starving and that any money they might lose would only be spent on rims or homes or jewelry. But there are those artists who haven't made it big, these artists are usually the ones who end up getting bootlegged the most. Some times its easier to find an underground album on the internet than it is to find in a major record store.

Yet, i still don't see the merits in throwing people in jail for file sharing. Artists talk about the money that is coming out of their pocket when the biggest thief is the record label themselves. All of the execs are getting rich while hardly any of the artists are.

Anyways, I think the problem is overstated by the record companies. I would say that most people who download, download songs that they never intended to purchase, mostly singles that are played on the radio or older popular songs that you don't want to pay for an entire CD for. Other people who might download a whole CD might download it to hear it and then go out and buy it later. I'm sure some people hear the downloaded album and hate it or download it, love it and never go out and buy it. But damn if the quality of burned CD's doesn't suck.

This doesn't even get into intellectual property law, which i know nothing about. But i do know that there is a debate in IP law on the subject of file sharing, so it is not a settled issue. I say go out and swap files, its not stealing. Hell its not even like its going on for a commercial purpose. Its just like the public library without the pervs on the computers looking at porn.

Another topic
The most interesting thing about this whole blog thing is reading what other people have to say. There is a button in the upper right hand corner of this page, "Next Blog >>>>>", which allows you to click to another random blog.

Its strange and interesting that by clicking that button you get a small glimpse into people's lives. Some of the stuff that you come upon is equally fascinating and frightening. There's a lot of Republican blogs praising the war and the killing of Iraqis, some porn blogs, religious and atheist blogs, i found one blog of a 16 yr. old kid from Minnesota who was a white supremacist(sickening really), one blog of a high schooler who's father is an alcoholic. Truly amazing the spectrum of people's lives.

Lets call this Tubby Tuesdays

2005-11-09T01:08:00.000-05:00

I think this will end up just as a collection of random thoughts on Tuesdays

If you looked at pictures side by side, i think A.J. Hawk looks like Cameron Diaz. Don't ask questions just go find two pictures.

Isn't it time to give up the notion that college football players are "Student Athletes". They spend more time preparring for a game than most people do at work. When i was in college i barely had time to go to class between all the sleeping and drinking. So, i got no idea how these kids make it to class and do school work. I'm not saying pay them like it was their job, i'm just saying don't expect them to act like other students.

Congratulations go out to the my old high school Brush Arcs, who won their first ever State Playoff game in football. I think in my four years of high school they won maybe five games. But I blame that on Guy Trinetti.

Scooter Libbey got indicted a couple weeks ago. I mention it now because i didn't feel like doing it earlier. You've got to wonder about a presidency where the VP's chief of staff is charged with obstruction of justice in a case involving a matter of national security. But come on its not like he got head in the oval office, that would be HORRRRRRIBLE (Bill Waltonesque)

Terrell Owens apalogized today. I think that TO was justified in asking for a new contract, even if he just got a new seven year deal last year. (But that's an entire column). Even though he was initially justified he really is one of the worst teammates in the history of team sports. The Eagles had to shut him down for the year in order to attempt to salvage some part of their season.

Frank Jackson is the new mayor of Cleveland. There isn't really a comment that goes here. Good luck maybe. The city and the state are shrinking in both size and economy, and I'm not sure that Frank Jackson can stop it. Its going to take a complete reorgaization of local government to effect long lasting change in Northeast Ohio.

The Vice President and the White House want to remove the CIA from proposed legislation that would ban the use of torture by the U.S. govt. The white house's argument boils down to "we want to keep our options open". It doesn't shock me that the Bush white house would feel this way, it does shock me to hear it publically announced.

Fuck the FCC, (I hope i don't get in trouble for that).

Two Carolina Pather cheerleaders were arrested early Sunday when they got into a fight at a bar with another woman. The fight started because the cheerleaders were having sex in the bathroom. Two cheerleaders having lesbian sex in a bar bathroom, that's why the terrorists hate us.

If you are going to quote scripture, at length, in your blog DO NOT TRY TO JUSTIFY THE WAR. What would Jesus do? I don't know but he certainly wouldn't support the war. Somewhere over the past 1970 years Jesus become pro-rich, pro-war, and only for America.

Week 9

2005-11-04T21:10:00.000-05:00

Another edition of NFL picks, straight up no line. I think I'm just too lazy to look up the line.

Atlanta at Miami
The Falcons run defense is good enough to force Gus Ferrotte to try to beat them. On the other side the Falcons run more than anyone, probably because Mike Vick can't throw. I said that Vick wasn't going to be a good QB in the NFL when he got drafted, how much longer do we have to wait before i can say "I told you so"? Falcons win.

Carolina at Tampa Bay
Chris Simms is still playing quarterback which means i'm not taking him. Steve Smith is getting MVP buzz, so watch for him to crap the bed this week. But I still think the Panthers can win this one on the road. Only one more week to the Tim Rattay era in Tampa.

Chicago at New Orleans
I'm not sure if this game is in San Antonio or Baton Rouge but it sure isn't in New Orleans. The Bears slapped Jeff Garcia around last week and they will do the same this week. Bears win on the legs of Cedric Benson, here's hoping he doesn't cry. The Tom Benson hate-o-meter continues to climb.

Cincinnati at Baltimore
Stil no Ray Lewis or Ed Reed, means Bengals offense all day. The Steelers took the Ravens lightly last week, the Bengals won't do that. The Bengals defense should have an easy time stopping what amounts to a 1-AA offense. Take the Bengals, I think I've picked four straight road teams. Which means one or all of the above picks were wrong.

Detroit at Minnesota
The second coming of Joey Harrington, unfortunately for Lions fans he hasn't gotten any better. Vikings win this one on the strength of Brad Johnson, and promptly quit the season to end on a high note.

Houston at Jacksonville
Texans do not make it two in a row, Jacksonville bounces back from a disapointing loss to the Rams. What more can you say about this game except to hope for a bunch of turnovers from the Texans.

Oakland at Kansas City
Shootout, AFC West style. No defense in sight in this game. The Chiefs win at home, but it should be interesting. Does the ever increasing drama with Terrell Owens make Randy Moss look more stable every week? If TO keeps this up, he will make Moss look like Steve Largent, well without the whiteness.

San Diego at Jets
J_E_T_S, JETS, JETS, JETS... no i'm just fuckin with you. Chargers win on the road. LaDainian Tomlinsen has more touchdown passes than the entire Jets team. If Tomlinsen keeps throwing TD passes can I start him at QB in my fantasy league.?

Tennessee at Cleveland
The Browns are somehow favored in this game after losing to the worst team in football. Browns might win but i doubt it. The defense isn't good enough to stop Steve McNair. One day i think McNair will leave a body part on the field, and still go out the next week and throw for two hundred.

Giants at San Francisco
Matt Gulatta is starting this week for the 49ers, their line does a worse job at protecting him than the Brush Arcs circa 1997. (the mighty Arcs made the D-I state playoffs this year for the first time ever. You wish you were a Brush Arc!) Giants go into Candlestick and win.

Seattle at Arizona
No one is talking about the Seahawks. Don't know why, they're pretty good. Shaun Alexander is the second best running back in the league, we'll see how good he is once he gets that extension. I think Kurt Warner is starting this week for the Cards, and since his deal with the devil expired three years ago Hawks win.

Pittsburgh at Green Bay
I'm taking the Packers in this one, for no other reason than i hate the Steelers. If you want a better explanation, Charlie Batch. There's a reason he hasn't started a game in three years. As bad as the Packers are they have been in almost every game this year. Favre is at the point in his career, like Marino at the end of his, where he can still put up numbers but can't win a game byhimself. Except i don't think Favre will have the chance to lose by 50 in the playoffs.

Philadelphia at Washington
This one kinda depends on if TO plays or not. Say what you will about his off the field antics, the man guts it out on the field. If TO plays the Eagles win, if not then its a close game. This Skins team isn't that good, and when their defense doesn't show up they get blown out like they did last week. I think they'll rebound this week, but its still not good enough.

Indy at New England
Regardless of what Bill Simmons thinks the Colts are going to win this game. The Patriots are too banged up to beat the best team in the league. It will be close but Manning will have a field day on the depleted secondary. But, if the Colts lose Manning will bever win a big game, ever like John Elway before Terrell Davis carried him to two Super Bowls.

Too many road teams got picked so it might be a bad week for me, but you get what you pay for.

Christmas

2005-11-03T11:55:00.000-05:00

Can someone get me this for Christmas, i think its appropriate.

Our reader(s)

2005-11-02T11:35:00.000-05:00

We here at This is not a Blog like to think that we cater to our readers. So this post is for our readers or our one reader.

That's right the mastodon returned to Raw on Monday. The only man to hold title belts on 6 continents, its Vader time. All household furniture beware.

NFL Week in review

2005-11-01T12:17:00.000-05:00

Arizona at Dallas
I guess you don't need Julius Jones when you've got Marion Barber III. Larry Fitzgerald didn't show up and i only got 3 points out of my fantasy receivers, but i still won. So, its all good. I don't get what happened to this Cards team. They were everyone's sleeper pick, i guess it goes to show that no one knows what they are talking about.

Chicago at Detroit
That's right Detroit Jeff Garcia sucks.

Cleveland at Houston
I guess the odds makers were right. Ugly game that the Browns should have won. This loss was not Dilfer's fault, he had a typical Trent Dilfer day. (Aside from that fumble in the second half.) The problem was special teams. How bad is Kyle Richardson? He kicked a 10 yard. punt, 10 yards! Lets hope he's not on the team next week. But hey Chris Gardoki hasn't had a punt blocked in 3.5 million attempts.

Green Bay at Cincinnati
You know how i know that the Bengals aren't that good. They intercepted Favre 5 times and only won by a touchdown. Not only that it was close at the end. The Packers are starting Taco Wallace at receiver, whenever you are starting a guy named Taco you better start preparing for the draft.

Jacksonville at St. Louis
How did the Jags lose this game? Maybe Mike Martz is that bad of a coach that the team is better without him. Maybe covering Kevin Curtis would have been a good idea.

Miami at New Orleans
Should have listened to myself, when the home team doesn't have a home and the owner is threatening to rip them out of the N.O., don't pick them. Not only is Tom Benson threatening to move the team but he's attacking camera men. He's kind like Lex Luthor just not bald. But still not Art Modell.

Minnesota at Carolina
The boat is sinking into Lake Minnetonka, save the strippers. With Culpepper out for the year Mike Tice better be preparing his resume to be someone's tight ends coach next year.

Oakland at Tennessee
Steve McNair mos def has sack. But that doesn't make the rest of the team good. Memo to Norv Turner, RUN THE BALL.

Washington at NYG
Another game that i should have listened to myself. You know the Skins aren't that good and the Giants beloved owner dies during the week, telltale signs of a blowout.

Kansas City at San Diego
K.C. doesn't play defense but the Bolts still almost chocked this one away. When LT has more touchdown passes than the Jets team is that more impressive for LT or depressing for Jets fans?J-E-T-S, JETS, JETS, JETS.

Philly at Denver
If Woody Hayes was still alive i think he would have shot Andy Reid by now. Why don't they run the ball, it boggles my mind? Jake Plummer still hasn't killed his team in a big game. But isn't that thought in the back of everyone's mind? I think everyone is waiting for that game when Jake throws that costly INT late in a game. I'm waiting for it and he's only on my fantasy team, i would hate to be a Broncos' fan in a close game down the stretch

Tampa at San Fran
What did i say about Chris Simms? Lets hope Phil has a job for him cause he's not going to be starting much longer. Never thought i'd see the day that people were fondly remembering the Brian Griese era.

Buffalo at New England
Closer than it should have been. Kelly Holcomb still sucks and still can't manage a game. But New England's secondary is atrocious. It going to be tough for them to make it through the playoffs.

Baltimore at Pittsburgh
This game was way too close. For some reason the Steelers decided to throw the ball 30 times. Maybe Cowher was trying to prove something maybe who knows. I do know that Anthony Wright should not be a starting quarterback in this league, but neither should Kyle Boller so they're stuck either way.

Scalito

2005-10-31T22:03:00.000-05:00

Didn't i tell you that the next Supreme Court nominee was going to be worse than Harriet Miers. The President nominated Sam Alito to be the Justice that replaces Sandra Day O'Connor in the High Court. Alito is such a strict constructionist that he has earned the nickname "Scalito" during his 15 years on the 3rd circuit court of appeals.

Alito faces what would seem to be a tough fight in the Senate. With the what would hopefully be a long filibuster by the Democratic senators. The harsh reality of it is that 8 out of 10 Supreme Court nominees are confirmed by the senate. (Regardless of the pity party that Robert Bork likes to throw himself)

Assuming that Alito is confirmed that leaves a clear 5-4 separation in the court. On top of that, most of those 5 aren't moderate conservative justices. Scalia, Thomas and Alito are all hard core right wingers that interpret the Constitution in a very conservative manner. (Don't let Scalia's rhetoric fool you, what he's doing is every bit as interpretive as what Ruth Ginsburg would do.)

So where does that leave the court? Roe is almost certain to come up where it would most likely be overturned or at least drastically limited. But there are other issues that would come up tha are just as important to the nation. Clarence Thomas has made no secret about his feelings about affirmative action. Scalia has said that he doesn't believe in substantive due process. Alito has favored law enforcement in search and seizure cases.

So in my humble opinion this will be this presidents legacy. Dramatically shifting the balance of power in the high court. Which will in turn hand down opinions that will echo in the halls of time. There aren't term limits in the Court, these guys are going to be there for a while. (I say "guys" because the president has elected not to nominate a woman to replace the retiring O'Connor.)

The weekend that was, and i don't remember

2005-10-31T00:14:00.000-05:00

Just thoughts on the weekend.

White people cannot dance. Its like a mathematical impossibility for two white people to look good dancing, if its not a slow song. This stems from being in a bar in Bainbridge and watching two people (probably drunk) try to dance to a live band that was playing 70's Southern Rock. "Play Freebird!!!!" Watching these people dance was like watching someone have a seizure, just without the laundry. There wasn't even a semblance of rhythm.

Got really drunk at a wedding on Saturday. Really drunk. I'd say more but i don't remember anything and my teeth are purple. But this was the last wedding in a month long string of weddings that prevented me from really getting into the college football season. From here on out my ass will be firmly planted in front of the TV from noon until 10 for the next two months.

The Browns suck, they dominated that game and found a way to lose. I really can't bring myself to talk about it. I will say that i don't think changing QB's is the answer.

Scooter Libbey got indicted. Isn't this just another black eye for this administration. What a colossal failure these 8 years have been. That's as in depth as my political commentary is getting on a sunday night.

more football analysis to come after the monday night game. Until then nighty night keep your butthole tight!

not that anyone cares here's my picks for this NFL week

2005-10-28T16:55:00.000-04:00

Here's the straight up picks, maybe one week i'll look up the lines on the games and play against the spread. But that day is not today

Arizona at Dallas
Even without Julius Jones being 100% Dallas should roll an Arizona team that can't run the ball (Damn you J.J. Arrington). Lets hope for my sake that Larry Fitzgerald has a good day cause he might be my only fantasy receiver playing this week.

Chicago at Detroit
Bears suck Lions suck, who sucks less? The Bears. Bears have a tough D and should have no problem stopping Jeff Garcia who won't be as pumped up when he's not playing Cleveland.

Cleveland at Houston
If you don't have to watch this game, don't. Browns are two point dogs to a team that doesn't have a win, you think Romeo wasn't telling all of his players that this week. Browns should do enough to get a win, but if they don't this may be Trent Dilifer's last start of the year.

Green Bay at Cincinnati
I hate to let everyone in Cincinnati in on a little secret, but they're still the Bengals and they're still Cincinnati. They had less wins in the 90's than the Browns and the Browns weren't in the league for three years. The Bengals are a good team just not a good enough team to go far in the playoffs. The good news is that Chad Johnson can save money on his car insurance by switching to Geiko and the Packers suck ass. Bengals win this one in a shoot out.

Jacksonville at St. Louis
No Marc Bulger means no win for the Rams. Its like this Rams team hasn't gotten any better in the last four years. The defense still sucks and the offense is getting worse. The Jags play solid D and should have enough offense to win.

Miami at New Orleans
Who knows with this game. Its hard to pick Gus Ferroette on the road, and the Saints have gotten screwed by the refs two weeks in a row. So i'm going with the home team that doesn't have a home. An aside, if Tom Benson moves the Saints out of the N.O. after a devastating hurricane like Katrina he might be worse than Art Modell, MIGHT be worse.

Minnesota at Carolina
I think Carolina pounds the Vikes at home. The Vikings won't be able to score and there defense that was supposed to be better this year is horrible.

Oakland at Tennessee
I think Steve McNair has sack but if he didn't even get on the team plane last week the Titans are in trouble. This one is going to be a shoot out either way so flip a coin. It came up heads so i'm going with the Raiders.

Washington at N.Y. Giants
Giants don't play any D the Skins play a ton. Defense beats offense go with the Skins. But i think that this Skins team isn't as good as their record indicates, some close wins and a blowout of the 49ers does not impress me. In fact i think that the entire NFC East is overrated, except Dallas with a healthy Julius Jones.

Kansas City at San Diego
From what i hear about the Chiefs- Dolphins game from last friday the Chiefs continue to play no defense, lets hope that results in a big rebound from LaDainian Tomlinson. Its scary that the Chargers find ways to lose games, it reminds me of the Browns of the late 80's, just not as traumatic(that Rich Karlis field goal was no good, just ask Andrew Sicilliano). Bolts win

Philly at Denver
The Eagles throw the ball 70% of the time. This can't be good when your QB has a sports hernia. Denver and Jake Plummer have been playing solid ball all year. The trend continues, Broncos win at home, Eagles don't run the ball and TO complains.

Tampa Bay at San Francisco
The 49ers are starting Ken Dorsey at QB. I think that should be enough to ensure a Bucs win. Be careful because Chris Simmis is starting on the road. He couldn't get a win on the road in college it remains to be seen if he can do it in the pros. And what does it say about Simms that the Bucs traded for Tim Rattay, not a whole lot of confidence.

Buffalo at New England
Corey Dillon all day against a porous D-Line of the Bills. Everyone else will slowly figure out the Kelly Holcomb is not a serviceable quarterback.

Baltimore at Pittsburgh
No Ray Lewis and no Ed Reed means that the Ravens offense will have a chance to out score the defense this week. Pittsburgh wins, not really a close game. If there was a way that both teams could lose i hope it happens this week.

Stern 2

2005-10-28T11:06:00.000-04:00

Here's a quote from David Stern;
We don't know where the cut-off is, maybe if you earn less than $8 million, you'll get a scholarship from the commissioner." -- David Stern's answer to Marcus Camby's request for a clothes stipend

Couldn't you see him saying this while he was twisting his mustache and laughing maniacally afterwards. Stern is awesome.

Jigga what?

2005-10-28T02:12:00.000-04:00

Tonight at a concert in jersey Jay-Z declared war on "beef". This concert was hyped for more than a month now. Everyone talkin bout who is gonna get dissed and what not. It turns out that no one got dissed, at least for the moment. But Jay did bring Nas out to do "Dead Presidents" at the end of the show. If you've been listening to hip hop for the last five years you understand this is like Kennedy doing a show with Castro. Huge night for hip hop, that's who wins in all of this, hip hop.

Harriet, Sweet Har-i-et

2005-10-27T11:05:00.000-04:00

The news of the morning is Harriet Mier's withdrawal of her nomination for the Supreme Court. Not knowing Harriet Miers on any level i can't say what her leaning would have been on the Court. But Bush II knew her well, and most likely asked her straight out how she would vote on an abortion case. I'm sure she answered with something that the Pres. Liked or she wouldn't have gotten the nomination in the first place.
So, i'm not sure where all this right wing backlash comes from. I understand Souter was nominated by a Republican president and turned into a liberal judge, but Souter wasn't the President's personal attorney.
Now, i'm not bemoaning the fact that she withdrew her nomination. I felt like she was entirely unqualified for the position in the first place. Head of the Texas Bar Association does not a Justice make. But this sets up the possibility of someone worse being nominated to the High Court. I guess the fear of the unknown is worse than the fear of the known.
To appease the right-wing base, the Pres. Might have to go with a nomination that is worse than both Roberts and Miers. I hope its not but it might very well be.

It's like an orange on a tooth pick.

Mustachioed

2005-10-26T23:15:00.000-04:00

Does anyone remember the clips of David Stern from the mid 80's drafts when he had that mustache? I think he should bring back the stache. If only for the reason that announcers can call him the mustachioed David Stern. And yes the whole point of the entry was to type mustachioed. But doesn't a mustache fit Stern's persona, especially after the "if they don't like the dress code, I'll be more than happy to help them find alternative employment" comments? It would be infinitely better if he had the Rollie Fingers handlebar stache, so he could twist it at his desk laughing maniacally at the power he wields of pro basketball as Russ Granik brings him more mustache wax.

These posts have become entirely too sports oriented and i'm not reaching a big segment of my audience. (I know, what audience?) So here's a music take;

Everyone loves lists (which i think is indicative of the mass consuption, more, more, more culture we live in) So here are my top albums of double aught 5. They're all hip hop albums because, despite what you hear on the radio, its the only real American music form left. Its my generation's Jazz. But that's a different post.
1. DangerDoom- The Mouse and the Mask
I don't think that there is anything wrong with this album. Even the skits, which normally i can't stand, are funny and make a contribution to the album. If you don't got this album go get it, NOW.
2. Common- Be
respectable effort from Common, not Resurrection but not crap either. It's a little on the short side for some, but Illmatic only had ten tracks and is the greatest hip-hop album ever. I think this album could have used maybe two more verses and it would have been good to go, especially on Testify.
3. Blackalicious- The Craft
Only given it about three listens but is a banger none the less. Chief Excel has some very nice production on this disc. Rap Reviews game them a 10 so who am i to argue.
4. Kanye West- Late Registration
Not as good as College Dropout or Be, but still worth a listen. Its got replay value but some of the songs skippable(addiction, bring me down). Its good to see that an artist can come out with two above average records to start a career.
5. Public Enemy- New Whirl Odor
Any time PE comes out with a new album it goes on the best of list, no questions asked. Fuck Elvis.

such a hate filled world

2005-10-25T22:43:00.000-04:00

Back when hockey was still somewhat relevant, I would have conversations with a friend of mine about the game. It was pointed out to me that I hated almost every player in the league. Which was true, I had serious dislike for at least 85% of the league. Especial dislike for Dominik Hasek, who in my opinion still hasn't won a meaningful game. Great defense makes a good goalie look like a hall of famer.

(As an aside, there is nothing better in sports than playoff hockey. Even though the playoffs last for two years, it is absolutely riveting. I watched a 5OT game between the Penguins and the Flyers and there were very few things in sports that could compare. Lets hope that when the playoffs roll around this year its even better with the new rules.)

So what prompted all of this distaste? Who knows, maybe its living in Cleveland and having to go through the fumble, the drive, the shot, Jose Mesa and a defensive collapse in the 02 playoffs. I guess all of that has built up a sense of bitterness. I always had a sense of pride about the city that there wasn't a public outcry about our bad luck like there was by Red Sox or Cubs fans. But maybe all of this agnst got internalized into bitterness about the success of other cities or other players. By the way there isn't a group of fans that I hate more than Red Sox fans.

There isn't really a point to this post other than I'm going to be very bitter for the forseeable future.

Now for a little bit of love.
Rosa Parks died yesterday. I can't imagine the kind of courage it took for her to not give up her seat. It only takes one person to start a revolution.

three swings for a quarter

2005-10-24T22:05:00.000-04:00

Why doesn't baseball have instant replay?
I understand that for the most part umpires do an excellent job, but there isn't a reason that it can't be done better. I don't want to take anything away from the men who are umps because they do an excellent job but instant replay can certainly improve some aspects of the game. There is no reason for baseball not to take advantage of technology that every other major sport uses.
The only argument I've heard is that it will cause a massive increase in the length of games if Umps were to use instant replay. That's fine in theory but if that's all you got then bring on the review booth. Why can't Major League Baseball have a system similar to the NFL, managers get two challenges per game and that's it and they can't challenge balls and strikes. I don't know the numbers but I would bet that NFL games are not significantly longer than they were before replay. Wouldn't this benefit the game greatly? You don't think that Phil Garner wouldn't have thrown the red hankey last night on that HBP?
And if your really concerned about the length of games keep the batter in the batter's box or shorten the length between innings. OH NO NOT THAT, that would cut into MLB's ad revenue. Baseball has this unhealthy attachment to tradition that surpasses even college football. Change always seems like a death knell to these purists. ( as a side note it amazes me that DH rule ever got passed) Change is good fellas, the replay machine isn't going to steal your souls.

and the seasons

2005-10-24T01:08:00.000-04:00

So went to the Rock Hall for the first time in the ten years that it has been open. Don't think i'm going back. At least not for 20 bucks. I understand people from out of town wanting to come in and check it out but I don't think they get a lot of repeat customers. Actually i was surprised about how many people were in there, of course most of the people were members of the Anthony Wayne High School Marching Band. Poor kids.

On the Browns game,
How do you lose to the Lions and the Ravens in back to back weeks? I guess the obvious answer is that the Browns suck. But I don't think they are as bad as the Lions and the Ravens. The Lions second receiver was Herman Moore and his construction crew and they still threw all over the Browns. But this wasn't the defenses fault. If you give up 13 points and get a kickoff return for a touchdown you should win. That brings me to Trent Dilfer.

I understand that he's here as a stop-gap, and he's mentoring Charlie Frye. But wasn't he brought in not to make mistakes? He threw three interceptions, one was batted in the air at the line so i'll cut him some slack there. But the other two were horrendous. There wasn't even a Browns' receiver near the play to break it up. If Dilfer's going to out there and throw picks you might as well put Frye in there.

The week that was in other football
Some thoughts on the college and pro game.
How does Alabama keep winning with no talent?Roll Tide i guess.

I hate USC, and i hate people who call them back to back national champs. The first one they shared with LSU, and last year Auburn was undefeated too. At most they've got one and a half.

LT nearly killed my fantasy team, but at least he got his bad game out of his system before the playoffs.

Is there anything worse than regional coverage in college football. Can someone tell me why I had to watch Purdue-Wisconsin instead of Texas- Texas Tech. I didn't go to Wisc. or Purdue i don't live near either, so why not put the better game on? Is there someone i can call at ABC to change the game on my tv?

The White Sox are the beneficiaries of some of the worst umpiring ever. Lucky bastards

jist

2005-10-21T00:58:00.000-04:00

Let me lay out the jist of this blog, (if that's not too pertentious) i guess it will mainly be cnetered on the things that i care about,i.e. sports, music, politics and philosophy. But you know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men.

Two and a half years of law school has done nothing to change my mind about the fact that most lawyers are pompous jerks. I love the law i just hate lawyers. Everything is so competitive and self serving i'm not sure that there are alot of people there who care about anyone but themselves.

Day 1

2005-10-20T15:33:00.000-04:00

Isn't it shocking that the internet will give any random person a forum to publish any meaningless ideas that they have. If this isn't what Holmes meant when he said market place of ideas then nothing was. Except this is kind of a deep discount marketplace. There's not a lot of good steak being sold on the internet.