Monie's Blog

Finals week

2006-05-08T12:40:00.000-05:00

Yes, it's the dreaded finals week for me, which means I wouldn't be doing any posting on this blog until I'm done. There are a few things I do want to say before I head off. First of all, I'm not mad that the Bulls lost to the Heat last week, I'm mad at how they lost. I always like to mention how the Bulls never give up, but on Thursday they just didn't have it. Oh well, next year the Bulls are getting out of the first round, damn it! Part of me will be rooting for New Jersey in the Heat/Nets series. I love Dwyane Wade, but he and the rest of his "team" got on my nerves during their series with the Bulls so...go Nets! Even though they'll probably lose. Last but not least, I have a job interview with Sears next Thursday. I'm nervous and excited so I'll definitely write a little post about how that goes. Until then, peace out!

NBA notes

2006-05-02T23:58:00.000-05:00

You know what? I give up on the Grizzlies. Every time I think they have a legitimate chance to upset somebody, they get their asses swept and laughed off the court. Damn it, it's one thing to get bumped out of the first round every year, but these guys haven't won a playoff game yet, and it's starting to get sad. I like Memphis, I truly do, but they need to make some changes. I don't know what's going to happen to this team in the offseason, and I don't know if they'll be able to survive another postseason appearance like this.

Go Clippers, it's your birthday! I am so happy for the L.A. Clippers. They've gotten out of the first round for the first time in 30 years. Sam Cassell is so ugly, but that man steps up during the playoffs. Cuttino Mobley proved his worth, as did Corey Maggette. And I'm just so proud of the youngster, Shaun Livingston. He's been playing so well, and he really is the future of the franchise. And of course you can't mention the Clippers without saying something about Elton Brand. Why isn't he still in a Bulls' uniform? I'm sorry. I'll get over it eventually, but why?! That man is a baller, and he's finally getting the respect he deserves. I love him, and I can't wait to see how he does against the Lakers...I mean, whoever wins the Lakers/Suns series. Oops.

The Miami Heat and their fans are still babies, but they got their shit together and beat the Bulls this evening. I'm mad that the Bulls lost, but I'm not that mad. The Bulls were playing like crap the whole night, but they managed to keep it close until the 4th quarter, and even then they stayed in it before eventually falling apart. Dwyane Wade needs to take better care of himself. For some reason his ass always ends up on the floor somewhere withering in pain. He makes me nervous every time I watch him play. For the love of God, stay healthy! Scott Skiles needs to get ahold of Kirk Hinrich's choke chain and pull...hard. Yes, he's been playing well this series, but he was completely out of control tonight. I would've liked to have seen him get taken out in favor of Chris Duhon. I know Chris can't shoot for shit, but at least he had a steadier head and hand than Kirk did tonight. What was he thinking? Andres Nocioni is incredible. Who would've thought that Noc could come so far in such a short amount of time? Pax, make sure you take care of this man when it's time to resign him. He deserves it. Oh, and to all those hating on Luol Deng, just stop, okay? Stop. It's his first experience in the playoffs, he needs to learn, and he will.

I guess that's it. So much NBA, so little time.

Heat fans are such babies

2006-05-01T00:30:00.000-05:00

My goodness, two games, two freakin' games, and you're whining?! I guess Miami Heat fans are so use to their players parading to the free throw line that when their team doesn't get the calls they start having a fit. Newsflash, Heat fans, the Bulls have been playing 5 on 8 all season, and they've dealt with it, why can't your team do that? Maybe because they're bigger babies than you are. I picked the Heat to win this series in 5, and I'm so glad I was wrong. Shit, I don't even think they don't deserve to win anymore. Chicago has outplayed, outhustled, and outclassed Miami. The Heat are falling apart while the Bulls are just getting started. Heat fans, get ready for Tuesday. Your guys will probably get the calls on their home floor, but that doesn't mean the Bulls are going away anytime soon.

I know

2006-04-27T00:02:00.000-05:00

I'm extra late on this, but I am loving Lupe Fiasco. I hate to use this phrase, but this man is the truth. His lyrics are so on point it's ridiculous, and the beats backing him are hot too which is a plus. His album leaked over two months before it was supposed to hit the stores, but what I'm trying to figure out is why wait so long to release it? The people have spoken, and they want Lupe, just release the shit now and get it over with so he can get back in the studio and give us some more. We need it!

They're not going down without a fight

2006-04-24T22:50:00.000-05:00

I have got to give love to the Chicago Bulls. I still expect Miami to win the series in five, but the Bulls aren't going to make it easy for them. I've watched many Bulls games this season, and when they were down by 20 in the fourth quarter this evening I just kept thinking, "This isn't going to be a blowout. The Bulls aren't going to give up." I was right. With a little over a minute to go, Chicago cut the lead down to four and gave themselves a legitimate chance to steal one in Miami. Yes, they made some silly mistakes at the end, and Dwyane Wade has ice in his veins, but I can't be that mad Chicago lost this game. It's amazing how much heart and determination this young team has. Some teams, who shall remain nameless, would've given up after being down by 20 but not the Bulls. I know that heart and determination alone aren't going to get Chicago a championship, but their intensity and love of the game will keep this fan watching.

NBA Notes

2006-04-23T01:09:00.000-05:00

The first day of the playoffs is over, and I just thought I'd do a little post highlighting some things I found interesting. If anyone else finds this post, feel free to add your thoughts.

- LeBron James. How can anyone hate this man? Not only does he get his first playoff win, but he also got the triple-double as well. And was I the only one who laughed when LeBron caught that balloon that was on the court and the crowd cheered and started chanting "MVP"?

- I enjoyed the energy from Anderson Varejao. He was everywhere on the floor today, and he was doing everything.

- Tony Parker is a man. That is all.

- Udonis Haslem lost his damn mind. Why the hell did he feel the need to throw his mouth guard at Joey Crawford. Joey Crawford!

- Yes the Bulls did lose, but I love the fact that they didn't make things easy for the Heat. Miami might be fucked up by the time they get to New Jersey or Indiana.

- Andres Nocioni should not be anywhere near the court in a close game with less than a minute left.

- While the Nuggets/Clippers game did have an exciting finish, the Bulls/Heat game was the best one of the day.

Can't wait until tomorrow. Go Pistons, Suns, Mavs, and ?!

NBA Notes: Western Conference Playoff Edition

2006-04-22T14:14:00.000-05:00

Ah yes, the Western conference. They're varsity, and it takes more than a .500 record to make it in this conference (Sorry to the Eastern conference teams that finished with a .500 record or less). There are a few teams that didn't make the playoffs in the West that I really would've like to have seen make it. I feel bad for the Houston Rockets. There were so many injuries to key players, and everything seemed to be going against them. Tracy McGrady had a fucked up year with his back problems and a minor bout of depression. The few bright spots for the Rockets were seeing rookie Luther Head playing well, and at the end of the season the dominance of Yao Ming. He was putting up spectacular numbers, I hope it continues next season.

The other team I would've love to have seen in the playoffs was, of course, the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets. Between Byron Scott, another Coach of the Year candidate, David West, an early contender for Most Improved Player, Speedy Claxton, a viable candidate for Sixth Man of the Year, and the undisputed Rookie of the Year, Chris Paul this team had so much going for them. They were a joy to watch the couple of times I caught their games this season, and they can only get better.

The chances for upsets in the West are aplenty. I'm looking forward to a few of these matchups more than others, but they should all be entertaining. Let's go.

1 vs 8 San Antonio Spurs vs Sacramento Kings

It seems like people tend to forget that the San Antonio Spurs are the champions. They're the ones with the trophy, and they're not going to give it up without a fight. My goodness has Tony Parker improved this season. His free throw percentage has gone up and his field goal percentage is insane for a little 6'1 guard. I can't believe this man is only 23. His buddy in the backcourt Manu Ginobili is the perfect compliment to him. Last year's playoffs was when Manu really made a name for himself, and this year he gets another chance to show off his skills. Bruce Bowen, the defensive stopper. Some consider him to be a dirty player, but I don't. He just plays hard, and he's not gonna let people just score on him at will. He's also pretty good at knocking down that three from the corner. Robert Horry likes to hit big shots. And then there's Tim Duncan. Yes, he's had some health problems this season, but come on now. It's Tim Duncan. And even if he doesn't play that well, he's got a good supporting cast around him to pick up the slack plus they've got Gregg Popovich as a head coach which is not a bad thing. He stresses defense, and he's got a repoire with his players.

At the beginning of the season I thought for sure the Sacramento Kings would be the three seed in the West. Color me surprised when it looked like the Kings would end up in the lottery instead of the playoffs. Luckily they got their acts together, and they can thank one player for that, and his name is Ron Artest *dramatic music*. The Kings traded Peja Stojakovic to the Pacers for Ron Artest right before the trade deadline and it's worked out well for them so far. Ron promised that the Kings would get to playoffs and they have. If Ron can just stay the way he is now, he could help lead the Kings to the Finals in a couple of years. Ron Artest did help Sacramento avoid the lottery, but if it hadn't been for Mike Bibby they wouldn't even have had a chance at the beginning of the year. So, he didn't fit into that leader role very well, but he did enough to keep the Kings from falling way down into obscurity. He's putting up career numbers, and everybody knows that the Playoffs Mike Bibby is hell of a lot different than Regular Season Mike Bibby. Brad Miller not only stays in the paint as their center but he can also his the elbow jumper. Yay, Shareef Abdur-Rahim has finally gotten to the playoffs! He should take full advantage of it. Bonzi Wells has been a rebounding machine for the Kings. And I've been impressed by the development of second-year player Kevin Martin and rookie Francisco Garcia. This could be Rick Adelman's last year in Sac, but I surely hope it isn't.

A lot of people wouldnt be surprised if Sacramento somehow comes up with the win against San Antonio. I wouldn't be surprised either, but in this situation I have to go with the champs. It's only fair. I'd love it if it were Sacramento in 7, but I'm going with San Antonio in 6.

2 vs 7 Phoenix Suns vs Los Angeles Lakers

How the hell did Phoenix manage to get the second seed in the West without Amare Stoudemire? Are we forgetting that the Suns have last year's (and possibly this year's) MVP, Steve Nash as their point guard? He's averaging a career best in points and a league-leading 10.5 assists. It's amazing how Steve Nash makes the players around him so much better. Case in point, Boris Diaw, the likely winner of the Most Improved Player award. Last year he was only averaging 5 points but this year he's up to 13. He's also a triple-double threat. There's also a big difference between this year's Suns' team and last year's, the bench is better. Leandro Barbosa's numbers have gone up and so has instant-offense-off-the-bench Eddie House's. Raja Bell's scoring has increased, and he still plays great defense. I remember watching him this season actually playing defense with his hands behind his back. It was classic. Kurt Thomas came in from New York and has also brought more toughness to the Suns' squad. And last but certainly not least, I have to talk about Shawn Marion. Let me say right off the bat that this man is no longer underrated. I'm sick of everyone calling him that. Newsflash, if every sports analysts calls you "underrated" you're no longer underrated. Getting 20 points a game, and grabbing 10 rebounds is a walk in the park for him. Steve Nash is important to this team, but so is Shawn Marion, and some would even argue that's he's more crucial to the team's success than Nash is. Mike D'Antoni will get some Coach of the Year consideration. I like that from the beginning he's endorsed the run-and-gun style of play, and he wants his team doing that the whole game.

The Lakers are in the playoffs. Hip Hip...yeah, you get it. I'm so sick of the Kobe show. I mean, it's great that he can score so many points and play some pretty good defense, but what makes this man so special? He admitted that he didn't trust his teammates, what kind of "leader" does that? And yes, you can say, "Well, look who are his teammates are.", but didn't I just finish mentioning how Steve Nash has made those no-name players on his team better? Why can't Kobe do that? And another thing, if you're gonna take the majority of your team's shot shouldn't you be averaging over 30 points? Honestly. And don't make me talk about the Zen Master. Why couldn't he have just stayed away? I'm sure his daughter...er, I mean, girlfriend is in need of some attention. The one good thing I can say about the Lakers is I'm very happy to see the emergence of Smush Parker. One of the many things the Lakers were in need of was a decent point guard, and they have found one in Smush Parker. Oh, and I'd like to add that I wouldn't be surprised if Lamar Odom managed to screw things up for this team in the playoffs. I've seen him single-handedly lose games for the Lakers. Somebody get this man under control!

I am so looking forward to watching Kobe jack up ridiculous shots because he doesn't want to pass to Luke Walton. But what I'm not looking forward to is seeing Kwame Brown's ugly face for too long. I'd never pick the Lakers to win anything so I'll say Phoenix in 6, but I'm really hoping for a sweep.

3 vs 6 Devner Nuggets vs Los Angeles Clippers

Although I had Minnestota (?!) winning the Northwest division I did believe that Denver would come out on top. 'Melo is back in the playoffs for the third year in a row, but can he get his team out of the first round? Carmelo is definitely having the best season of his short career and has helped this team get to the three seed. The Nuggets' point guard Andre Miller is the driving force behind the team. He sets them up for shots and can hit a few of his own. Wehn Marcus Camby has been healthy he's been an absolute beast on the court blocking shots and snatching rebounds. Eduardo Najera is a spark off the bench that gives them energy. Francisco Elson has has stepped up in the absence of Nene. And even though he's had injuries and dealt with trade rumors, Kenyon Martin is still an important piece to this Denver team.

Damn it, I can't make jokes about the Clippers anymore. I can't say that I wasn't surprised that the Clippers made the playoffs, but I am very happy to see them in the postseason. Their veteran backcourt of Sam Cassell and Cuttino Mobley have really pushed this team. And I love the youngster Shaun Livingston as the backup point guard; he has great court vision. Chris Kaman is their man in the middle and is capable of putting up points. And man, do I wish Elton Brand was still on the Bulls. This young man has been doing it for many years in the league, but this season he's finally getting the recognition he deserves. I know he won't get the MVP award, but he should at least get some consideration. Without him who knows where the Clippers would be.

Come on, Nuggets, get out of the first round! This series is funny because although the Nuggets have the higher seed, the Clippers have the better record and will have home court advantage. I think this will help that team. Part of me wants to say Denver, but I gotta go with Los Angeles in 7. The Clippers, the only team in Los Angeles I'll root for.

4 vs 5 Dallas Mavericks vs Memphis Grizzlies

I am so proud of the Dallas Mavericks. For years they've been known as a team that's all offense and no defense, but that has changed since my favorite soundbite, Avery Johnson took over. It's no surprise that a man who played under Gregg Popovich is defensive-minded. So, Jason Terry isn't Steve Nash, but I think he's done a fantastic job as their point guard. He's not afraid to take big shots. I really like the Mavericks' young swingmen Marquis Daniels and Josh Howard. Devin Harris has battled injuries, and I hope he's able to play. DeSagana Diop has come into his own this season. And of course Dirk Nowitzki does what he needs to do all the time. He should get some MVP votes as well.

I think we all questioned Jerry West's motives when he traded for all these veterans this season, but it worked out because Memphis is back in the playoffs. When I think of Shane Battier, I think of the work "dependable". Mike Miller can hit some shots. Chucky Atkins was a good acquisition for the Grizz. Bobby Jackson was the spark off the Kings' bench for many years and now he brings that same intensity to Memphis. Eddie Jones has been crucial to this team's success. Miami has really missed his presence this season. Pau Gasol played in his first All-Star game this season and he was definitely deserving of it. When he plays well, the Grizzlies are hard to beat. And with the Czar at helm you better believe this team won't just lay down against the Mavericks.

The Grizzlies will give the Mavericks some problems, but I can't go against Avery Johnson. I have to see more than just one round of his press conferences. Dallas in 5.

The playoffs start today, and while many are picking the Pistons to win it all I believe the championship is anyone's to win. Whoo, I'm too excited!

NBA Notes: Eastern Conference Playoff Edition

2006-04-20T22:48:00.000-05:00

Wow, I can't believe the season is already over. It felt like just yesterday that I started my "30 Teams, 30 Predictions" post, and now the 30 teams are down to 16, and we're heading into the playoffs. It's been a great season full of ups and downs, surprises and letdowns. Everybody (including me) figured the Eastern conference would be so much stronger this year. At the beginning of the season it was looking pretty good.

The 76ers would get a chance to play Allen Iverson and Chris Webber together for a full year. Boston, with leadership from Paul Pierce and Ricky Davis, were putting together a nice youth movement. And man, those New York Knicks. They were going to be something special with the Queen running the show, and Eddy Curry in the middle. But what happened? AI and C Webb just weren't clicking and Billy King recently imploded on himself. He might be shopping AI over the summer. I know it sounds crazy, but it could happen. Boston traded Ricky Davis to the T-Wolves, and Paul Pierce and Wally just aren't enough. Oh boy, those Knicks. I can't really feel sorry for them after the Queen was talking shit about the Bulls, but they had an awful year. I hope they do better next year, their city and their fans don't deserve another season like this one.

Oh well, on to the teams that did make the playoffs. I predicted that both Philly and the Knicks would make it, but I was wrong. And part of me was glad I was wrong because that means I'll get to see the Bucks play some postseason ball. Whoo-hoo! Go Charlie Bell and Mo Williams! Ahem, let's get started.

1 vs 8 Detroit Pistons vs Milwaukee Bucks

What can I say about the Detroit Pistons? They have the best starting five in the league, a Coach of the Year candidate in Flip Saunders, a Defensive Player of the Year, Ben Wallace, and a MVP candidate in Chauncey Billups. At the beginning of the season nobody (except maybe the Pistons' fans) knew the team could be this good without Larry Brown. Some analysts started predicting that the Pistons could break the Bulls' record of 72-10, but Detroit didn't care about that. All they cared about was winning and getting home court advantage throughout the playoffs, and they got it. Rip Hamilton is having a career year averaging 20 points a game, shooting almost 50 percent from the field, and he leads the league in 3-point percentage. Ben Wallace has been a defensive monster, as usual. Tayshaun Prince is easily becoming one of the best all-around players in the league. And Rasheed Wallace does just about everything for this team. When he plays well, nine times out of ten the Pistons are going to win. Chauncey is their floor leader, and I believe because of his strong play this season he should get some MVP votes. The Pistons' bench isn't as strong as it was when they won the championship two years ago, but it has some nice pieces. Antonio McDyess and Maurice Evans need to be ready. Lindsay Hunter steps up his game in the playoffs. I hope Carlos Delfino gets a chance to prove himself. Dale Davis may be asked to play some minutes. And Tony Delk was a very nice addition near the end of the season. Flip has been a breath of fresh air for this team, and I expect him to lead the Pistons back to the Finals.

Milwaukee. It's not as boring as it was at the beginning of the season. I'm not sure why I didn't pick this team to make the playoffs. Maybe I just didn't believe they'd actually pull themselves together enough to make it. The Bucks have always been a strange team to me. They have plenty of good players, but they never seemed good enough to compete. Maybe that'll change this year in the playoffs. Michael Redd is one of the purest shooters in the league. When that man's got it dialed in, he's nearly impossible to control. Jamaal Magloire came in from the Hornets and has played well. It seemed like Joe Smith killed every time I saw the Bucks play against the Bulls. As did Charlie Bell, who has really come into his own this year. Both he and Mo Williams have done well off the bench. The rookie Andrew Bogut has had an impressive first year. I thought he might be a bust, but the boy hasn't done bad. And then there's T.J. Ford. It's hard to believe he missed a whole season of action because he's played like he was never hurt. I love this guy, and it's going to be fun to see him shine in the postseason.

Poor Milwaukee. The rest of the teams in the bottom of the East played their hardest to avoid the big, bad Pistons, and with good reason. Detroit's one goal is to win a championship after losing in the Finals last year. The Bucks might surprise the Pistons, but that's about it. Michael Redd and Rip Hamilton going at it will be interesting. Playoffs Pistons are a whole different breed of team that I don't think Milwaukee can handle. Detroit in 4.

2 vs 7 Miami Heat vs Chicago Bulls

I actually picked the Heat to be the one seed in the East, but I underestimated the power of the Pistons. The Miami Heat are an interesting team. A Pimp Named Slickback, Pat Riley, took over as coach for Stan Van Gundy. They have Antonie Walker, chucker extradornaire. They have Gary Payton. Old-ass GP is still chasing after a ring. They have James Posey, who I don't remember doing much this season. He was injured, right? They have Jason Williams; White Chocolate, y'all! They have Derek Anderson, who they got in a trade from Houston, but I don't know why. Who else do they have? Oh right, Alonzo Mourning, he's been hurt but should be back blocking shots with authority in the first round. Udonis Haslem knocks down a shot every now and then. None of these people matter because the Heat have two players no one else does, and they're superheroes. That's not fair! Why do they get Superman and Flash? Although Shaq seems to be starting to slow down after a long and successful career, he is still Shaq, and he should be feared. And Dwyane Wade is just getting starting. That man is bad, he can get into the paint whenever he wants and knock down the mid-range jumper. How the hell can anybody compete with that?

Well, the Chicago Bulls are sure as hell gonna try. It has been one hell of a season for the team from the Chi'. The Bulls have the worst frontcourt in the league. Othella Harrington, Malik Allen, Michael Sweetney, Darius Songaila (who won't be playing), Luke Schenscher, and Tyson Chandler. It's laughable. These guys are near the bottom of the barrel when it comes to doing anything on the floor. You might get a few points, some rebounds, and a block or two from them, and even that's asking a lot sometimes. The only thing that saves the Bulls from New York Knicks territory is that Chicago has two young, incredible small forwards, and a great backcourt, who are also young. Luol Deng and Andres Nocioni have had breakout years in only their second seasons. Luol is a star in the making, and Noc can get you a double-double night in and night out. Yes, the backcourt is undersized, but I think that's what makes them so dangerous. Kirk Hinrich and Ben Gordon are both capable of handling the ball and knocking down shots. Kirk is one of the better defensive point guards in the league, and Ben's defense has greatly improved. But defense is not what BG is known for. Ben can heat up and put up points faster than most guys, and when the fourth quarter comes around, look out. You better believe the ball will be in his hands because the guy is as clutch as they come. I can't forget about Chris Duhon, who is a great backup point guard. He does the little things. He plays tough defense, grabs rebounds, and outhustles everyone else on the floor. The Bulls are lucky to have him. But this team goes nowhere without their coach, Scott Skiles. Some may question his substitution patterns but at the end of the day he's got his team right where they should be in the playoffs.

Won't this be a grand 'ole time? The Bulls and Heat have played some close and exciting games this season, and I'm hoping the playoffs will be no different. The Heat's frontcourt should dominate the Bulls' frontcourt, but I think the Bulls may have an edge on the perimeter. Dwyane Wade has had problems playing against the Bulls since he's been in the league, and I think it's a combination of playing against his hometown team, the team that would've drafted him if they could, and Kirk Hinrich's smothering defense. However, I do see the kid stepping up and figuring out how to play against Chicago's defense. The Chi' will give Miami the hardest fought four games they've ever played. I'm just kidding, Miami in 5. But I wouldn't be surprised if the Bulls managed to win two games.

3 vs 6 New Jersey Nets vs Indiana Pacers

Let me start off by saying that I don't like New Jersey. Now that that's out of the way, the Nets have played well for the most part. They started the season kind of slow, playing .500 ball, but they made a run near the end and almost snatched the two seed away from the Heat. The Big 3 as they're called are, of course, what makes the team go. Without them the Nets would be lottery bound. I can't stand Richard Jefferson, but I must admit the man can ball. Jason Kidd is not the player he once was, but he has stayed healthy which is an accomplishment in itself. And last but not least is Half-Man, Half-Amazing, and I'm still trying to figure out why it's a good thing to be "Half-Man", but whatever. Vince Carter makes crazy dunks and hits impossible threes. Vinsanity has helped get the Nets this far, and that trade that sent the Nets' whole frontline to the Raptors for Vince Carter is looking like it paid off. And I feel so smart, I said at the beginning of the season that Nenad Kristic could be the unsung hero of this team, and he's become just that.

Oh, Indiana, how troubled you are. I don't know what it is with this team, but they just can't seem to catch a break. Between suspensions, injuries, and questionable players the Pacers have endured more than any team should. Well, they finally got rid of Ron Artest and actually got a good player in return. Peja Stojakovic will be in a Pacers' uniform ofr the playoffs this year. He has played so much better after being traded away from Sacramento. I hate to say this, but as a Kings' fan I have watched Peja disappear during the playoffs. I'm hoping this year will be different. Stephen Jackson is more than capable of putting up good numbers. Jamal Tinsley needs to be healthy. Jeff Foster should keep doing the dirty work down in the paint. And Scot Pollard will change his hairdo at least nine times before the playoffs are over. Jermaine O'Neal has been battling injuries all season so I'll ignore those crazy comments about wanting to play Detroit in the first round. He wasn't thinking clearly. Rick Carlisle has been the one stabilizing force on this team since he came to Indiana, but he should get that flask ready just in case.

I really don't know who's going to end up with the win in this series. In my opinion both teams have an equal chance to win. It could go either way, but I don't think it will be an easy one. I honestly don't know so ________ in 7.

4 vs 5 Cleveland Cavaliers vs Washington Wizards

Finally! I don't know why, but it seems like it took LeBron forever to get his ass in the playoffs. I am absolutely thrilled to see King James in the postseason. He can do whatever he wants whenever he wants. Just make your damn free throws! Big Z is starting to get kind of up there in basketball years, but he's still a force in the paint. It also helps that he's a big man that can make his free throws. Drew Gooden will be making his case so the Bulls will pick him up in the offseason. I'm just kidding, the Cavs may need to get more out of Drew than 10 and 8. Damon Jones and Donyell Marshall both provide sparks off the bench. Damon has been struggling this season maybe he'll get into playoff form soon. I wonder if Eric Snow ever gets tired of being in the shadow of a superstar. Probably not. He has a steady hand, and it's always nice to have a veteran point guard handling the ball. Larry Hughes returned recently after sitting out with an injury for most of the season. He and LeBron work well together, and I'm looking forward to seeing them play together in the postseason.

Well, the Wizards made it after I said they wouldn't. I think the only reason I said they wouldn't make the playoffs was because I was still pissed they beat the Bulls last season. But here they are. I don't really like the Wizards either. I mean, Caron Butler is cool. He's definitely had a big impact on the game for them. When he got hurt, the team went into a freefall. Jared Jeffries still sucks, and don't even get me started on Brendan Heywood. You're not Shaq, damn it! Antonio Daniels has actually been okay at least when I've seen him play he hasn't been bad. Gilbert Arenas is an incredible player. As much as I don't care for this team, I will admit that. I wouldn't be surprised if he got some MVP votes. I can't believe it's only his fifth year in the league. This guy can only get better, and I want to see him improve.

This is another series that I think can go either way. LeBron will be getting his first taste of the playoff atmosphere, hopefully if he has jitters it won't affect him too much. I think it'll help that his team has home court advantage. Larry Hughes will be going up against his former team and I'm sure he'll be out to prove that he's better off without them. Gilbert should put up great numbers, and he might break some hearts again (Damn that shot in Game 5 last year!). I want to see more of the King, and I don't mean T.I.! Cleveland in 6.

The Eastern conference race should be fun to watch with the possibility of some upsets (For the love of everything that's holy, go Bulls!) Let's do this East, bring the trophy back where it belongs.

Kanye's "Mission" is "Impossible"

2006-04-12T23:40:00.000-05:00

I just heard Kanye West's remix of the "Mission Impossible" theme, and I gotta say, it's just all right. I mean, there's not really a lot he could do with it without making it sound completely different from the original theme. And if he did that, everybody would be hating on it more than they'll eventually hate on this version.

But I gotta give love to the people behind "Mission Impossible" for trying to make the movie more "hip" by getting Kanye to do the music. Besides his version of the theme, there's also another song floating around called "Impossible" that I mentioned on this blog before that features Twista and Keyshia Cole. After I listened to that one a few times, I started liking it. Kanye, get your acceptance speech ready, the Academy may be feeling generous again next year.

NBA Draft notes

2006-04-10T17:52:00.000-05:00

Yes, in the world of "Monie's Blog" there is such a thing as "NBA Draft notes". At least now there is. With the draft coming up in a little more than two months I figured if there was some draft news that I felt compelled to post about I would do it. In the this edition of "NBA Draft notes" I would like to address one thing...that LaMarcus Aldridge is going to declare for the draft! Ahem, I'm sorry I got excited.

Anyway, I wasn't worried when this Texas Longhorn told his fans and peers that he'd coming back to school instead of entering the draft. Most college b-ball players do that in the heat of the moment after the tournament ends. When you've got the crowd behind you chanting "one more year" what are you supposed to say? "Hell, naw, I'm leaving y'all asses to get paid in the NBA!" LaMarcus gave the fans what they wanted at the time, but now it's time to think about himself and what's best for him. I know he probably heard all that talk about how high he could go in the draft, and he figured he might as well strike while the iron is hot.

Speaking of striking while the iron's hot, Joakim Noah of Florida needs to get on that right about now. He said he was going back to school for another year, but come on. His team won the national championship, his stock is high right now. Why wait another year and blow the chance to be taken in the first round? I think this kid will come around and realize he needs to get to the NBA while the gettin's good.

Well, that's all I really have to say right now. This post might be coming more regularly as more news about which college players will be declaring becomes available.

Fire alarm + 6:30 in the morning = HELL!

2006-04-09T06:58:00.000-05:00

You gotta love NIU. So, just now I'm getting me some good sleep. You know that kind of sleep when you're dead to the world, and you have no fucking idea what's going on? Yup, that kind of sleep. Sounds nice, right? Well, it was until the damn fire alarm went off at 6:30 this morning on a Sunday disturbing every sleeping student in Lincoln Hall. At first, I said, "Fuck it! I ain't going out there." But then I decided I better take my ass outside just in case the building really was on fire. I slip on my gym shoes, no socks, and my jacket, no bra. I flip the hood over my sleep hate, and I head out with the departing kids from my floor. We all walk downstairs to the lobby to find that the police and the fire department are already there telling us to go back up to our rooms, that it was just a false alarm. There was a lot of cursing, but we all managed to get back up the stairs and back to our floors to try to get back to sleep.

I'm not really surprised that the fire alarm sounded this early in the morning for no reason. I lived in Lincoln last year, and that mutha fucka would always go off sending us kids outdoors and across the street to "safety". There were a few times my freshman year when the alarm went off multiple times in the day. And last year it actually did go off at 7:00 in the morning on a weekday, while I was in the shower, luckily (and I use this term very loosely) the shit was a false alarm, and I didn't have to go outside in my robe and shower shoes.

I know this might sound crazy, but there is one good thing that comes out of a false fire alarm. It brings together people who may not even see or speak to each other on a regular basis. You find yourself laughing and grumbling with a complete stranger about how annoying the fire alarm is, and sometimes you might even make a new friend along the way. Black people, white people, Asians, we may be from different backgrounds and have different cultures, but we can all agree on one thing... false alarms suck ass! Lincoln Hall, get yout shit together for real!

Holy collaborations, Batman!

2006-04-06T17:42:00.000-05:00

I recently got LL Cool J's new album Todd Smith, and I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw how many people he had on the album with him. Todd Smith has guest appearances by, ahem, Juelz Santana, Jennifer Lopez, Mary J Blige, Lyfe Jennings, Jamie Foxx, Teairra Mari, Freeway, Ryan Toby, Ginuwine, 112, Mary Mary, and Ne-Yo.

Whoo, I gotta take a deep breath after all of that. There's only one song on the album that doesn't have a guest and that's "#1 Fan". I haven't listened to Todd Smith yet but when I do I might put up a review. Speaking of reviews, that High School Musical one should be coming soon.

NBA notes

2006-04-02T15:03:00.000-05:00

"NBA notes" sponsored by...no one.

How quickly things can change? Last year at this time if Detroit was playing Phoenix, I'd expect the Pistons to be playing tough grind-it-out defense and restricted offense, and the Suns would be running and gunning like nobody's business. Well, this year Phoenix is still running and gunning like nobody's business, but guess what, so is Detroit. I'm not going to say I like this year's Detroit Pistons better than last year's, but you have to admit they are so much more fun to watch now. Their defense is still pretty good but watching the boys work so freely on offense is amazing. I can't take anything away from the Suns though. Even without Amare, they're still a dangerous team. Their new guys are playing well within the system, and I can still see them going deep into the playoffs. One last thing about Detroit and Phoenix, can we give the MVP award to both Steve Nash and Chauncey Billups? I know I said I wanted Chauncey to win, but Steve is having a great year as well, and I think both guys deserve it.

I'm going to admit I was wrong. I didn't give the Washington Wizards enough credit before the season started. They look like they're on the way to making the playoffs even without Larry Hughes. I gotta give props when props are due. Gilbert Arenas has been balling out of his mind, and I have to give love to Caron Butler for coming in and giving the Wizards the lift they needed after Hughes left. Antonio Daniels has been an adequate backup point guard, and as usual Antawn Jamison is having a good year. And "yay" for Jared Jeffries for not sucking that much at least in the Wizards' games I've seen this season. I couldn't stand Washington last year in the playoffs, but this year I'm kind of interested in seeing how far they go.

Watch out for those Sacramento Kings. On Wednesday the Kings will be meeting up with their potential first round opponent, the San Antonio Spurs. This game is going to be a big test for Sacramento to see how they matchup with the Spurs especially now that they have Mr. Ron Artest. I wouldn't be surprised if they put him on Manu Ginobili. Although that would be some battle between him and Bruce Bowen. Two of the best defensive players in the league facing off could be quite entertaining. I also want to see what the hell Mike Bibby thinks he's going to do with Tony Parker. Even if he can't keep up with him on defense, I hope Mike can at least match him offensively. For the Kings' sake I hope they can move up to the 7th spot, they might have a better chance against the Suns.

So, does anyone want that 8th seed in the Eastern Conference? At the rate these teams are going, I could get the 8th spot and play the Pistons my damn self, and that would be the worst playoff series. Ntway, as of right now the Philadelphia 76ers are in the final playoff spot, but they shouldn't get comfortable because my Chicago Bulls are currently only one game behind them, and they can smell fresh blood. If the Knicks can man-up and beat the '6ers tonight that would get the Bulls within a 1/2 game of the 8th spot. I don't know if the Chi's going to be able to pull it out, but I can tell you that they aren't going to give up without a fight. They play Philadelphia twice this week, and I think those games are going to be a huge determining factor as to which team gets Detroit in the first round and who heads to the Lottery.

One last thing, the NBA has lost its damn mind! Okay, I gave them the benefit of the doubt with the dress code thing. I can understand they want their players looking more professional, but this is just ri-gotdamn-diculous. The NBA is supposedly going to ban tights next season. This announcement is coming after the NBA said that they just "don't like the look of tights". What the hell kind of shit is that? Yeah, the tights kind of shocked me at first, but damn I got over it, why can't they? It's not like the tights are hurting anybody. The NBA says that the only way players are going to be able to wear tights next year is if the player has a note from the team's doctor. Such bullshit. I've noticed since the NBA announced they would be banning tights that the players who've been wearing them have stopped wearing the tights. It's kind of sad how the NBA has felt the need to regulate how the players look on and off the court. Hopefully they won't decide all of a sudden that they don't like the look of handbands either and decide to ban those as well. I'm going to pray for the state of the NBA.

That was "NBA notes" still sponsored by no one.

What am I listening to? Part 8

2006-03-29T16:32:00.000-06:00

Not a lot of "new" stuff but whatever, it's what I'm listening to.

1. Damien Marley- Beautiful (Jr. Gong, bitches! Sorry. You just know a song is good when even Bobby Brown himself can't mess it up. I love the lyrics, and the beat ain't bad either.)

2. Nick Cannon- Dime Piece (*hangs head in shame* I know, I know, it's a Nick Cannon song for goodness sake! Who likes Nick Cannon's music? That's right, no one! But I can't help it if that sample from "Poison" gets me every time I hear it. Ricky Bell could've been my baby daddy back in the '90s.)

3. The Pussycat Dolls- Beep (Will I Am is so damn annoying, and yet so damn appealing and it drives me crazy. I don't really care for the PCD, but this one makes me want to dance. And let me just say right here and right now...the red-headed bitch is a man. Plain and simple.)

4. Christina Milian- Who's Gonna Ride (Ah yes, Nick's ex-woman. Yes, the bitch was asking for trouble when she decided to go through the man's phone, but Nick knows he was wrong. This is supposed to be her payback song, but I'm not really getting that vibe from it. It sounds too much like "Stay Fly" to really make me think "Oh yeah, she got that nigga!".

5. Rhianna- S.O.S. (I really like the use of the sample, but I don't think this girl is gonna last. She seems like a one trick pony to me. I also have that other song "Unfaithful" on my computer, but I haven't listened to it yet.)

6. Pink- Stupid Girls (Pink makes fun of these so-called "stupid girl" celebrites in the song and video which are both funny. But at the end of the day, what's important is that Pink and the rest are all still dumb white girls to me. *shrugs*)

7. Sammie- You Should Be My Girl (Sammie's all grown up and saving China. He's the last person I would've expected to hear from again, but here he is still looking like the Sammie we all knew and loved for those three weeks back in like 2000. You can't tell me you didn't play out "I Like It" when it first came out. It was the shit! And surprisingly "You Should Be My Girl" could be a whole lot worse.)

8. Three Six Mafia- Poppin' My Collar (I rediscovered this song after the boys won the Oscar, and I think the win made me appreciate it so much more.)

9. Ne-Yo- Lonely (Aren't you sick of me pimping Ne-Yo? I honestly love this boy's album, and I hate that this song was left off of it. The first time I heard "Lonely" it made me so sad. I could feel his pain, and I felt like the one writing "y-l-e-n-o-l" in the fog on the window. It's okay, Ne-Yo, she'll take you back!)

10. Kanye West- Impossible (I didn't like this song when I first heard it. It seemed like he could've tried harder to make the it not so "Kanye-ish" but after a while I accepted it for what it is. Kanye, Twista, and Keyshia Cole together on a song. Yep, that's what it is.)

Hopefully I can get the "NBA notes" and the "High School Musical" review up before the end of the week. I think I'm going to do something a little bit different for that review so stay tuned.

NCAA Tournament thoughts

2006-03-24T13:45:00.000-06:00

I did a post last year about March Madness, but this time around I really haven't felt like posting about it (like I posted before I haven't felt like doing anything on this blog lately). But I had to mention last night's games. As much as I love Texas, I don't know if I can root for them after they broke the hearts of my West Virginia Mountaineers. I fell in love with West Virginia last year mainly because of one man...you guessed it Mike "white-boy-cheeks" Gansey. I don't like many white basketball players, because there aren't that many, but Mike Gansey's game caught me by surprise. He's capable of putting up points as well as rebounding and making the pass. Somebody please draft this boy!

There's another team that I also started to like last year and that's Memphis. I remember watching my boy, Darius Washington Jr. miss free throws that would've won his team the game against Louisville, and my heart broke for him and the team. This year's a totally different story. The Tigers are a one seed and probably the most underrated team in the whole tournament. People thought they'd get knocked out in the first round, but after a convincing win against Bradley last night they're heading to the Elite 8 and I couldn't be happier for them. Go Memphis!

Last but not least, poor Gonzaga. I actually turned from this game for a while because I didn't want to see Jordan Farmar and the rest of the Bruins lose. But I was pleasantly surprised when Gonzaga decided to lay down and let UCLA back into the game and eventually steal a win from a team that had things under control for most of the game. NCAA basketball fans have been talking about how Gonzaga's Adam Morrison fell out in the middle of the court crying after his team lost. Some people called him a bitch, but I disagree with that. He's not a bitch for crying after losing an important game. What I'm more concerned about is why the dude was about to start crying before the game even ended. UCLA was up by one with time left on the clock, and this dude had tears in his eyes. Newsflash, the game's not over yet! Gonzaga still had a chance to take it to overtime or even win after UCLA only made one free throw to stretch the lead to two. Why was he crying then? The fact that Adam Morrison basically gave up before the game was even over is what makes him a bitch in my eyes. Cry as hard as you want after the game is over, but if there's time left on that clock you keep playing because anyone who follows college basketball knows it ain't over 'til it's over!

Actually, there's one last thing, I can't help it, I feel bad for Duke. I know a lot of people hate them, but I like the boys, and I'm sorry J.J. Redick's and Sheldon Williams' college careers ended so soon. Props to LSU for pulling out the win.

Still more interested in writing than posting

2006-03-21T10:29:00.000-06:00

Well, I'm back from Spring Break, but I still don't feel like posting anything. I've been really into this story I'm writing, and this blog has faded into the background while I've concentrated on writing. If anyone out there actually reads this thing, I apologize for that. At some point I will do my "NBA notes" and "What am I listening to?" posts, and I'll also put up my thoughts on "High School Musical". 'Til then, peace out!

Taking my ass home

2006-03-09T23:48:00.000-06:00

I'm going home tomorrow for Spring Break! Sorry, I could see Milhouse from "The Simpsons" saying that, and if you don't get the joke, never mind. Well, I'll be back next Sunday so until then I probably won't be updating even though I haven't been updating that often recently. Anyway, I'm going home!

NBA notes

2006-02-28T13:52:00.000-06:00

Who the hell left the gate open? "NBA notes" did! Yeah, that was bad.

So what other team, besides the Knicks team, is trying to become the jackleg version of the Lakers a couple of years ago? You guessed it, the Knicks trading partner over the past two years, the Chicago Bulls. There have been reports coming out of the Bulls' camp for a while about how Scott Skiles and Ben Gordon are feuding, and then there was that article that had Scott insisting that he doesn't play favorites with his players. We all know Kirk Hinrich is Scott Skiles' adopted son, so for him to say he doesn't play favorites is BS. He'll take Ben Gordon out for one defensive breakdown, but he'll leave Kirk and Chris Duhon in even if they have five turnovers between them in the last five possessions.

It's ridiculous. I feel bad for Ben. He's a professional, and he would never say anything negative about Scott Skiles to the media, but any fan can tell that the dude isn't that happy. I was watching the 76ers game on Saturday, and when there was a timeout Ben Gordon was the only player that didn't get off the bench to greet the other players that had been out on the court. I don't know if that means anything, but if this shit doesn't stop now the Bulls could end up losing a very good player because their coach has issues. I like Scott Skiles, but something about all this mess doesn't smell right, and the funk is coming from him. And I'd like to add how interesting it is that Ben inadvertedly hit Chris' jaw with an elbow during practice the other day. If it had been Kirk, people would've been saying Ben did that shit on purpose.

Do I even want to talk about anyone else? I guess I should mention that while I would love to see the Sacramento Kings get to the playoffs, part of me is rooting for the Houston Rockets to get that last spot. I (and everyone else) expected the Rockets to be so much better this season, but they've had so many injuries, including multiple ones to their best player, that they haven't been able to get any type of good roll going. Houston's doing better now and I hope they manage to make it to the postseason even if they lose in the first round to the Spurs or the Mavericks.

And speaking of the Mavericks, can I give props to Avery Johnson for turning this team around and possibly making them contenders for the championship? Avery is a legitimate candidate for Coach of the Year, and he has his squad playing fantastic basketball. I can't stand Mark Cuban so I'm just going to forget that he has anything to do with the Dallas Mavericks so I can root for them without feeling guilty.

The New York Knicks. I don't even know what to say. What was the point of getting Steve Francis? What good is he going to do when you already have Stephon Marbury on your team?! Channing Frye, save yourself! You're the only good thing left on that pathetic team. Get the hell out of there!

I am looking forward to seeing what Bryan Colangelo can do for the Toronto Raptors. I mean, the man helped make the Phoenix Suns a contender. Lord only knows what type of magic he can work on the Raptors. I always hated on Toronto's front office just as much as their coach and players, but since they actually have a decent GM now, I can't say anything. Unless of course Bryan manages to fuck up too. Let's pray that doesn't happen.

"NBA notes", close the damn gate! Okay, that was still bad.

I'm gonna do it

2006-02-28T11:51:00.000-06:00

But I won't like it. I'm finally gonna break down and watch BET's brokedown version of the Real World, College Hill. I have been avoiding this show since it first premiered simply because what I saw of it didn't look that good, and I perferred not watching my people act a fool on national television (Which is the main reason why I can't watch any reality show involving Flavor Flav). Now I will watch some white folks acting stupid. MTV keep those Real Worlds coming no matter how lame they've become!

I remember my senior year of high school everybody was into College Hill. I would go to my Philosophy class and that's all anybody would be talking about. And you know what was worse than not being able to get in on the conversation? The fact that people hated on me for not watching it. The looks on my peers faces when I told them I didn't watch it were priceless. "How you not gonna watch College Hill?" was all I heard. Apparently it was considered blasphemy not to watch College Hill in the eyes of my fellow classmates. I stood my ground though. I wasn't watching that shit, but now as a sophomore in college I plan to tune into the show I once hated with a passion.

Why am I watching College Hill now? Well, I thought about it, and if I'm gonna watch someone acting a fool, I guess it might as well be my own people, right? Honestly I don't know why I'm going to watch this mess, I guess I'm just curious to see what the big deal is. It premieres on Thursday at 9:00pm Eastern time, but I'm gonna have to catch it on the repeat. There's a Bulls' game on national TV that night. Bulls or College Hill? I think I'm gonna go with the Bulls, but like I said, I will watch College Hill eventually. I might even post about it.

Finally!

2006-02-24T12:55:00.000-06:00

Anybody who watches Fox knows it has the reputation of ruining its shows by moving them to different days, changing their times, or replacing them with a different show for a while right when the other is at the peak of its popularity. Well, Fox did that recently when it opted to replace its breakout hit, Prison Break with the returning 24. I was pissed. I started watching Prison Break from the beginning and enjoyed every episode better than the last, and when Fox decided to give 24 its' time slot I wanted to throw my TV out the window.

Fox claimed Prison Break would return, and that gave me hope, but when they said the summer I tossed my TV back out the window. Fox knew they were wrong for that so they told the fans March. March. At the time it seemed so for away, but now it's less than a week away. Fox started showing promos for Prison Break a few weeks ago, but us fans still didn't have a return date. All we got was, "Prison Break, this March." WTF?! "This March?" Give us a damn date!

I am now happy to report that the Prison Break fans of the world can rejoice. We have a date. Everyone tune in to Fox March 20th at 9:00pm Eastern time to see the Spring(?) premiere of Prison Break. I have been looking forward to this for a minute. It'll be nice to have a quality show back on Fox. It makes the Stackeds and The War at Homes a little bit easier to tolerate.

Monie continues her streak of annoying celebrities/people associated with celebrities

2006-02-21T23:53:00.000-06:00

And I'm damn proud of it too! Can I get a yaymen?! Yes! Okay, that was a weird way to start off a post. Ntway, when I went to a Justin Timberlake concert three years ago I stood outside the arena waiting for Justin to emerge from his tour bus so I could wave at him, say hello, and make him fall in love with me. Kidding...about the waving part. So, while I was waiting with my fellow JT fans I decided to harass Justin Timberlake's best friend/personal bitch, Trace Ayala or as I like to call him, "Mooching Ass" Ayala. He came out the bus to get something from one of the compartments at the bottom of the bus, his pants were falling down, I yell, "Pull your pants up!", the crowd laughs, and "Mooching Ass" actually takes my advice and pulls up his pants.

At that same concert, I was still standing outside in the cold waiting for Justin, and his bodyguard was standing outside the bus. I start messing with him. I yell, "Come on, don't you want to tell us when he's coming out?!" He ignores me. I noticed his short sleeves and yell, "I know you cold!" He shakes his head and still ignores me. Finally after waiting three hours Mr. Timberlake finally shows himself. I yell and wave, and surprisingly he waves back. And that was it.

Why did I tell that story? I don't know. I guess I needed a lead-in to my Ben Gordon encounter. Okay, so it wasn't a real encounter. I posted before about how he has a MySpace account, and a public AIM screename and well, I decided to IM him. The first time I IMed him was after the Bulls/76ers game. I just told him congrats on the good game, he said thanks. I told him I got his screename off MySpace, he said uh-huh. Hold up, not "uh-huh" but "uhuh" which I'm assuming was supposed to be an "uh-huh", but it actually could've been an "Uh-uh, oh no you didn't!" I then said I hoped he'd light them up at the Rookie/Sophomore game, no response. Wow, exciting right? Well, it gets slightly more interesting.

I got online yesterday, and I was on AIM for a few minutes before Ben got on there. He gets on and immediately puts up an away message. Not just any away message, but the standard "I'm away from my computer" message. I IM him and ask, "How you gonna get online just to put up an away message that's not even clever? Shame on you, Ben Gordon." And before you say anything, it was a joke! A joke! A jokey joke. Whatever. So five minutes later I check back, and the fool (when I say "fool", I mean it in the nicest possible way) has actually changed his away message. It said (this is just how he wrote it), "busy answering emails". I couldn't believe it. Obviously it's still not clever, but it's better than "I'm away from my computer doing suttin'." That "doing suttin'" part wasn't there, but you get the point.

Now I honestly don't know if my IM had anything to do with him changing his away message. He could've really been away from his computer, got back on, and started answering e-mails. But because I am a lame, I will always believe that I made Ben Gordon change his away message. I made him change his away message! Hooray for me! Yeah! I probably won't be IMing Ben again for a while, but I'll keep this blog updated if something else interesting, funny, or bad happens when I do decide to IM him again.

All-Star Weekend Rant

2006-02-21T13:41:00.000-06:00

I know some people might do an in-depth analysis on everything that was All-Star Weekend, but I'm not one of those people. I don't feel like doing all of that so I'm just going to give my random thoughts about the events that went down in Houston this past weekend.

- Well, I finally got to see Chris Paul play in the Rookie/Sophomore game, and I must say the dude is impressive. He didn't score much, but he did set up his rookie teammates for some nice plays. This young man is going to have a bright future, and he better be in the All-Star game next year otherwise some heads are going to be rolling.

- I gotta give props to Del Harris for playing the three sophomore Bulls together. It was a beautiful thing seeing Luol, Noc, and Ben out there doing the damn thing.

- Speaking of the Bulls, why did it feel like every pass Ben Gordon tried to make resulted in a turnover? Ben's passing has definitely progressed, but on Friday night he just didn't have it. Or maybe I should blame the other sophomores for not catching his passes.

- Delonte West is a bitch, plain and simple. Although I gotta give him love for singing "She's Your Queen To Be" during the Rookie/Sophomore practice. That was amusing, but he's still a bitch.

- Why can't I remember anything that any of the rookies, besides Chris Paul, did during the game?

- Andre Iguodala is a man! It was so nice to see him dunking and shooting threes and doing everything else he can do. Damn, he would look good in a Bulls' uniform.

- The East practice looked like so much more fun compared to the West practice.

- I ain't mad at Avery Johnson for showing his ass this weekend. It's his first year as the All-Star coach, as well as his first full year coaching. Let the man have his time to shine.

- I love Rasheed Wallace simply because he came up during Kobe's interview and yelled, "Oh, Kobe, I love you." in a feminine voice. That dude is crazy.

- T-Mac and Vince Carter are too funny together. If you missed Vince interviewing his cousin, T-Mac on NBATV you missed some funny shit.

- The Shooting Stars competition...why?!

- As much as I love seeing Chauncey Billups every chance I get, he should not have been in the Three-Point Shootout. He's a three-point myth, everyone should know that.

- I knew Steve Nash wasn't going to win the Skills Challenge. But between Dwyane Wade and LeBron James, who in the hell actually believed LeBron had a chance?

- Little Man 2.0 dunking over Little Man 1.0, you gotta love it. Nate Robinson may be on the Knicks, but I still gotta give him props for coming with something original at the dunk contest. And didn't Spud Webb look happy as hell that people were actually paying attention to him?

- Josh Smith played himself putting that tape down on the court like he was going to dunk from there, and that's all I'm going to say about that.

- Iggy does it again! Not only did he dunk from behind the backboard...he had AI himself assisting him. He was looking all good and...nevermind. Oh, and I love Little Man, but Iggy was robbed!

- Ernie Johnson on pimp cups- "It was a mug with dollar signs on it." The best quote of the whole weekend.

- The player introductions surprised me. I thought they were going to be lame as hell, but when the Eastern Conferece All-Star starters came out and did their Jackson 5 routine I was laughing my ass off. And to see Yao Ming popping and locking practically killed me. Why was he getting it more than anybody else?

- Gotta give love to the Matrix and KG for being the only two non-starters to work it out during the introductions.

- I love the fact Destiny's Child brings their own wind with them for every performance. Most people can't do that.

- I am too damn mad we didn't get to see Avery Johnson's "All 7 footer" lineup. That would've been interesting.

- What Paul Pierce said to Flip Saunders and the 4 Detroit Pistons when he found out he would be the fifth guy in the lineup, "Can y'all take me with you back to Detroit? I'm the Truth."

- Kobe Bryant was extra happy all weekend. He looked like he was having fun dancing before the National Anthem and acting a fool on the bench with KG and the Matrix. It made me kind of remember why I liked him back in the day. Hmm...I'll hate him again on Thursday.

- Charles Barkley needs to keep his mouth shut. He said the game was over at halftime when the West was up by 17, and what happened? The East won by two. Actually maybe he should hate on people more often.

- John Legend in a wifebeater. There are no words to describe that.

- I liked the fact that the West team was trying to get T-Mac the MVP award; that was cute. And why was LeBron saying some stupid shit during his press conference after he won it? And didn't it seem like he didn't deserve to win?

Well, watching the All-Star Weekend festivities was fun as usual. I love seeing some of my favorite players get together for a few days and just have a good time. I can't wait to see how wild they get in Las Vegas next year.

MySpace Nation

2006-02-16T13:25:00.000-06:00

People's obsession with the website MySpace.com is very amusing to me. The folks that run MySpace claim it is a way to make new friends, find dates, keep in touch with your family, promote your business, find lost love ones, and cure cancer! Okay, so the last one isn't true, but you gotta admit with the way things are going MySpace could cure cancer eventually, right? Kidding. MySpace is rather interesting though. It allows people to create their own homepage with facts about themselves, pictures, their favorite music, and so forth. Other MySpace users can add you as their friend and leave you messages telling you how hot you are or that your mama should've left you where you were. How nice.

You know what else trips me out about MySpace? That celebrities are getting in on it too. There are plenty of people with fake MySpace profiles claiming to be famous, but there are others that are actually real. I found out today that my favorite Chicago Bull, Ben Gordon has a MySpace page, and it's legit. I believe he has over 200 friends right now, and the list will keep growing as more people find out about it. Apparently Ben has an AIM screen name as well. I know what it is, but I'm not going to put it out there on my blog. If you really want to know, and I know you do, you can find out by making a MySpace page and adding him as a friend. Chances are he'll probably add you, he seems like a MySpace whore (Ben, if you come across this, I mean "whore" in the best possible way).

I haven't given into the MySpace pressure yet, and I doubt I will. I don't have the time or patience to make a page. Hopefully this whole thing will calm down after a while...it probably won't though.

P.S. I have yet to IM Ben Gordon. If I do, I'll let you know if he responds.

What am I listening to? Part 7

2006-02-14T10:19:00.000-06:00

I don't know if and when I'm going to get my All-Star Weekend post up so I figured I'd throw up another one of these posts. Enjoy!

1. Pharrell Williams- Angel (I've had this song on my computer for a while, but I've recently fallen back in love with it. The doorbell "ding-dong" part gets me every time. And I like this one so much better than "Can I have It Like That". You got it like that.)

2. LL Cool J- Control Myself (So LL Cool J has gotten to the point where he's just stopped caring. There are some awful things going on in this song that JD himself could barely salvage. And get this, even J-Lo lowered herself on this one. But, hey, I can still dance to it and that's the only important thing, right?)

3. Keyshia Cole- Love (This woman can't sing! But it's so damn catchy! I'm mad at myself for this one.)

4. Robin Thicke- Lost Without You (Where is his album?! Somebody give me his album! I need his album now! Thank you!)

5. Stat Quo- Hittin' Switches (I am forever going to be on this man's jock until somebody else loves him as much as I do.)

6. Da Backwudz- I Don't Like The Look Of It (This song is hilarious. It was a very clever use of a sample from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, which surprises me because I never thought the Da Backwudz and clever would go together. Hmm.)

7. Chris Brown- Yo Excuse Me Miss Remix (I hate blends, but this is the only only one I'll ever admit to liking. You got that? The only one.)

8. Bubba Sparxxx- Ms. New Booty (Bubba Sparxxx is back, y'all! *holds for applause, doesn't get any, walks out of post*)

9. Ne-Yo- Get Down Like That (Why does his album only have 12 songs? It's a travesty. It's a total waste of talent. I love this boy, and I demand more than 12 songs. I can't believe "Can't Stop" and "Don't Worry Me Now" aren't on the album. I'm so disappointed, but I will be buying it anyway.)

10. Prince- Black Sweat (I hope no one thought Prince was a has-been because this joint is hotter than a lot of what the young guns are putting out. I hope the version on the album is longer than the mp3 I have. I want a song like this to just keep going so I can get my juke on.)

Hopefully that All-Star post will be up by Thursday. It's gonna be a long week.

Semi-Lazy Samone

2006-02-06T12:40:00.000-06:00

I haven't updated this thing in over a week partly because I haven't really had anything to talk about, but mainly because I broke through the writer's block I've had for the past few months. I not only broke it, I exploded that sucka! I've gotten a little over 30 pages done in the span of four days, and I'm still going. Until the All-Star reserves are announced on Thursday so I can give my thoughts on All-Star weekend, my focus will be on writing and not blogging.

NBA Notes: The "What in the hell is going on?" Edition

2006-01-28T15:20:00.000-06:00

"Overpaid Mikki Moore? Overpaid Mikki Moore?! Aww, hell to the naw! I'll show you who's an overpaid Mikki Moore!" Tyson Chandler then proceeds to rip off his warmups, charge onto the court, pick up two quick fouls, and then slinks his way back to the bench with Scott Skiles just shaking his head in disgust. I am happy to report that in the last three games, that hasn't happened! Tyson Chandler is finally playing like the man the Chicago Bulls' organization paid $63 million dollars. Over the last three games, Tyson has been averaging almost 13 points and 14 rebounds, and it's no surprise that the Bulls have won the last three games. I've been watching Tyson all season waiting for him to find his balls, and he's found them. The question is, will he lose them again? And if so, for how long?

Brrrrrrrrrr, what happened to that boy? Chris "Birdman" Anderson was suspended for two years for violating the NBA's Anti-Drug Program. What does Monie think about this? Monie thinks the NBA just didn't want the Birdman flying high in the dunk contest this year. We all saw what happened last year, and as entertaining as it was to watch Chris Anderson miss dunk after dunk I think it's time to give someone else a chance. See ya, Chris, hope to see you again in two years.

Ntway, Ron Artest played his first game as a Sacramento King last night. I feel bad for Ron; he could have a squeaky clean record for the rest of his NBA career, and the only thing anyone would ever remember was that he was that nutcase who went into the stands. I truly hope Ron Artest finds a home in Sacramento and proves all those analysts who think he's gonna blow up again wrong. Get 'em, Ron, I'm rooting for you even if no one else is!

I'm interested in seeing how the Indiana Pacers are going to fare the rest of the season. Jermaine O'Neal will be out for at least two months with an injury, Peja Stojakovic will be trying to adjust to a new system, Stephen Jackson will be threatening people for no reason, and Rick Carlisle will have even more excuses to down a couple of glasses of scotch. If the Pacers make the playoffs, I think the NBA should give them some type of prize. This team has been through some serious shit the last two years, don't they deserve something?

I don't give a damn what anyone says Chauncey Billups is the MVP. Until somebody else does as much for his team as Chauncey does, he gets my vote. He can score (Yeah, I know Kobe can too), he can pass (Yeah, I know Steve Nash can too), he's clutch, he plays defense (I don't see Steve Nash doing that), and he's helped lead his team to the best record in the NBA (Kobe can score 50 and his team still loses). In my opinion, this man has been the MVP so far this season, and if anyone else thinks any differently then they can go to hell. Chauncey for MVP! Chauncey for MVP, gotdamnit!

NBA Notes: Damn It! Edition

2006-01-24T17:50:00.000-06:00

Of course when I finally post something about Ron Artest it turns out he doesn't want to go to Sacramento. I don't know how this is going to affect the trade, but I do know I ain't posting shit about Ron Artest again until I know for sure where he's going to end up.

NBA Notes: Ron Artest Edition

2006-01-24T17:35:00.000-06:00

As a NBA fan, I guess I must give in to the peer pressure and make a post strictly about Ron Artest. This whole thing feels like some type of hostage situation that has finally come to an end that for the most part worked out for everyone involved. This afternoon Ron Artest was traded to the Sacramento Kings for Peja Stojakovic in a deal that many Kings' fans have wanted done for years even after Ronny went crazy and charged into the stands in Detroit. But honestly can you blame either party for agreeing to this trade?

The Indiana Pacers get rid of a player who has caused them trouble for the last year and a half with the rap career, year-long suspension, and now this season with the trade demands. They're also getting rid of a guy who no longer has the respect of the team's franchise player. Jermaine O'Neal wanted Ron Artest gone so why not oblige your superstar? I also think Rick Carlisle had had enough of Ron as well. Rick Carlisle has been the only stablizing thing for the Pacers these past couple of years, and I think he'll probably appreciate not having someone, for lack of a better explanation, who isn't as stable on his team.

So what are the Sacramento Kings trading away by giving up Peja Stojakovic? At one point Peja was considered a MVP candidate, but when Chris Webber returned from a knee injury in the '03-'04 season Peja couldn't putting up those MVP numbers anymore. The Kings' solution: trade Chris Webber. It didn't help, and Peja's been on a downward spiral since. So the Kings are getting rid of a player who hasn't consistently performed for them, and who has the reputation of being a little "soft". Sacramento is going in a different direction, and Peja wasn't fitting into that system anymore. Something had to change.

These two teams are getting players that they both need. The Indiana Pacers are getting a pure shooter, and the perimeter player they desperately needed. The Sacramento Kings are getting a passionate, defensive-minded player, who has the ability to post up because of his size and strength. The change of scenary could bode well for Peja and Ron. I hope this trade works out for both teams.

The Kanye done hit the fan

2006-01-24T14:32:00.000-06:00

I can't describe the look on my face when I saw the picture that will once again put Kanye West right where he wants to be...in the middle of some drama. Kanye was photographed depicting Jesus Christ on the cover of Rolling Stone, and I gotta say even though Kanye lacks a few things, shame, humility, a stylist, he definitely ain't lacking in the "I got the balls to do whatever I want" category. Posing as Jesus Christ? Damn, I'm worried about how the backlash will affect me, and I don't even have anything to do with it. Well, Kanye, I'm gonna pray for you...or is it to you? Never mind.

Lack of sleep makes things funnier than they actually are

2006-01-23T23:35:00.000-06:00

I've said it many times on this blog that I'm a Chicago Bulls' fan. I love this team when they're winning and even when they're inconsistent. Today I was just messing around on everyone's favorite search engine, Google, and I decided to Google Ben Gordon just to see what came up. The usual popped up; the NBA.com and ESPN.com player profiles, a couple of stories about him wanting to be traded, some sites with pictures on them and whatnot, but for some reason one site caught me off guard, Ben Gordon's Official Website.

I don't know why it never occured to me that he would have a website; I guess I just never thought about it. So I click on the link and it takes me to the homepage. I had my speakers on, and what's the first thing I hear? Jadakiss' "Knock Yourself Out", and I just started bustin' up laughing partly because that use to be my song, but mainly because it just seemed so random. Usually basketball players don't have music on their websites, but I guess it just shows how regular Ben Gordon is. And if Jadakiss wasn't enough for you when that song ended, Jay-Z's "Encore" started, and I had to step away from the computer for a moment because it was too much to take. Ben Gordon gets a prize for obviously putting his own touches on his website, for being himself, and for giving me a laugh when I'm running on 5 hours of sleep.

Ain't that 'bout a bitch

2006-01-23T19:56:00.000-06:00

If you haven't heard about it already, there's an e-mail going around about how NBC isn't promoting Jaime Foxx's music special because he wouldn't give into the network's demand about adding a white performer onto the show, and because he has two "controversial" guest performers that NBC didn't approve of.

I don't know if this is true or not, but I wouldn't put it pass NBC to do something as shady as this. Putting the special on opposite American Idol does seem a little suspect. I don't like Jaime Foxx, but I will have to at least turn the show on just because I gotta rep for my people no matter how annoying they are.

NBA Notes

2006-01-23T00:11:00.000-06:00

Holy Hell! Could it be time to test Mr. Kobe Bryant for steroids? I still don't like him simply because I think he's a cocky son of an itch, but I can't deny that the dude has been cutting up these last few weeks. Tonight he scored 81 points. Yes, he did do it against the pitiful Toronto Raptors but still 81 points is a lot! And to top it off the Lakers actually won the game, which I think is more of an accomplishment than anything. Kobe won't be winning a championship this year, but damn it he's got that scoring title on lock. Good for you, Kobe, get that individual accolade.

I know I say it a lot, but I just can't seem to say enough. I love Chris Duhon. I'm a Bulls' fan so that might make me a tad bit biased, but I think if this boy was on any other team I would like him just as much. He reminds me of Jay Williams not only because they both went to Duke but because they both seem like genuinely nice guys. I was watching Chris on a television program this evening, and I just enjoyed hearing him speak. He's so articulate compared to other NBA players, and he gives off such good vibes. I wish this young man continued success in the NBA, and he needs to give me those earrings he had on tonight!

I'm putting it out there; Byron Scott for Coach of the Year. Who really expected the New Orleans Hornets to be anywhere near .500 this year let alone hovering over it occasionally? Byron's got these young men playing good ball. David West is a candidate for Most Improved Player, and what can I say about the rookie? That he ain't no damn rookie. Chris Paul is playing like somebody who's been in the league for years. It's amazing, he scores, passes, and rebounds; I honestly don't think there's anything this kid can't do. If he keeps balling the way he has been, there's no way Chris Paul won't be an All-Star; he's already one to me.

Just a small note about Ron Artest...I predict he won't be playing for the Indiana Pacers again anytime soon. I ain't saying nothing else about that.

I've been giving this some serious thought. It took me a while, but I think I've finally made my decision. While I like Kevin Garnett's commercial for Adidas with his five characters, I still gotta go with the 4 sides of LeBron Nike commercials. Wise LeBron is a trip with his alleged quadruple double, Business LeBron should be heading for the cover of GQ, Kid LeBron is a cutie with a weird fixation for dinner rolls, and Athlete LeBron is the silent, strong type who's content with letting the other LeBrons have the spotlight for a little while. You can't tell me you don't love seeing the LeBrons work it out to "Superfreak".

That was Monie's Blog "NBA Notes". That's it for now.

NBA Notes: Bulls vs Knicks Edition

2006-01-18T23:05:00.000-06:00

Man, oh gotdamn man! I didn't get to see this game, but I wish I had because there was some drama going on in the UC tonight. Everybody knows that the Bulls and Knicks have a little rivalry since the two teams made those trades this past offseason and the year before that, but nobody anticipated what would go down between these teams in their second meeting this year. Stephon Marbury had to sit out with an injury which meant that Jamal Crawford would start in his place, that put the three former Bulls, JC, Antonio Davis, and Eddy Curry, in the Knicks' starting lineup against Chicago.

The game was close the whole time. Neither team managed to get full control of the game. The game went into overtime. Tempers started flaring when my favorite little man, Chris Duhon, got into it with Maurice Taylor; both guys got ejected. I've said it once and I'll say it again...Chris Duhon is a man! He pushed Mo and wasn't gonna back down even when the larger man got in his face. Tiny rookie Nate Robinson even got in on it, him and Duhon were staring each other down. I think all that vodka that Chris drinks gets him fired up; I like it. And later on in OT, things could only get worse. Antonio Davis ends up going into the stands after some guy in the crowd starts heckling Antonio's wife. Can you believe it? He, of course, gets ejected after that. But really, can you blame him?

The Bulls go up three, but former Bull, Jamal Crawford hit a long three to tie the game with four seconds left. Who ya gonna call? That's right, the Knicks' killa himself, Ben Gordon! He buries the jumper, he got it off before the buzzer this time, and the Bulls win. That was some type of game, but even after all the mess that happened all that matters is that the Bulls got the win. Forget Carmelo and LeBron, this was the game of the night.

What Age Do You Act?

2006-01-17T22:14:00.000-06:00

You Are 17 Years Old

Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe.
13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world.
20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences.
30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more!
40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax.

What'>http://www.blogthings.com/whatagequiz/">What Age Do You Act?

I'll be damned! I act two years younger than I actually am.

Back To Business

2006-01-17T10:06:00.000-06:00

Well, I'm back at NIU after a much-needed break. And even though I brought my computer home with me over the break, I didn't update my blog mainly because I have a dial-up connection at home, and I never feel like updating on the slow connection. Now that I'm back at school and on a decent connection look for more updates. It's good to be back.

Dang, you look like...

2005-12-05T18:54:00.000-06:00

I was watching SNL on Saturday, and while James Blunt was performing I kept staring at him thinking he looked like someone. So they closed up on him, and he looked into the camera (which really creeped me out for some reason), and I finally figured out who he looked like. James Blunt looks like the current MVP of the NBA, Mr. Canada, Steve Nash. Seriously find a picture of Steve Nash and James Blunt, and you will see what I'm talking about.

And speaking of looking like somebody, I was just watching the BET.com Countdown hosted by my favorite 'Teen of Comedy', Brandon T. Jackson. I was also looking at him thinking he favored somebody. Some of you might not agree with me on this one, but I swear that boy looks like Jaleel White. You know Jaleel White, the infamous Steve Urkel from "Family Matters". Now I'm not saying they look exactly alike, but if you've seen what Jaleel White looks like normally you might see the resemblance between him and Brandon T. Jackson. Come on, you know you see it, right around the eyes and nose. Don't lie and act like you can't see it.

Oh, FFS!

2005-12-04T14:19:00.000-06:00

I hate that little phrase, but for this it applies. I just mentioned that Ben Gordon has denied that he's unhappy on the bench in my last "NBA notes" post, but good grief! Will these stupid media people just get over it already?! Despite what they choose to believe, Ben Gordon won't be leaving Chicago anytime soon. As one-dimensional as he is sometimes, the boy is too talented and has too much upside to let go. If I know this, then John Paxson sure as hell knows this. Yes, Ben has been in a little slump lately, and I did boldly state that the Bulls should trade him if Scott Skiles wasn't giving him a fair chance, but Ben is starting to get his shooting touch back, and I was angry when I typed up that "Trade Ben Gordon" post. I had no business 'angry posting'.

And another thing, I'm sick of Bulls' fans wanting to get rid of Chris Duhon, Kirk Hinrich, or Ben Gordon whenever they have bad games. I like the Bulls set of mini-guards, and as ridiculous as it is that Scott Skiles would play them all together on the floor, the 'Mickey Mouse' lineup as I like to call it has been effective in certain games. I honestly can't see John Paxson getting rid of one, two, or all of them. They work well together, and I think the fans need to realize that all three of them are still young and still have time to develop.

Well, I'm done with my mini-rant. Back to studying for finals.

NBA notes

2005-11-30T22:35:00.000-06:00

"NBA notes", it's what you want...yeah, that was bad.

Rumors of Ben Gordon's unhappiness on the bench in Chicago have been greatly exaggerated. Apparently last year's Sixth Man of the Year and Rookie of the Year (Yeah, I know he didn't win ROY, but he's still the winner in my heart!) is just fine with his role on the bench, and he didn't know how the rumor of him wanting to be traded got started. *coughsBSPNcoughs* Anyway, more on the Bulls. They lost to the Knicks tonight. Boo! The officiating was terrible; how does one team shoot 57 free throws in one game? Granted, from what I could tell the Bulls were settling for jump shots and not driving the lane, but still! 57 free throws! I guess the Queen threw a temper tantrum, and the refs had to accommodate to his needs. The good news is that even though the Bulls lost the game, I was looking over my predictions for the amount of wins and losses they would get this year, and I thought they would be 6-7 at this point. They're 7-6! Obviously 8-5 would be better, but at least 7-6 is better than 5-9, right?

Can I talk about the hot mess that is the Houston Rockets? I had this team winning 52 games and in the playoffs, but damn! 4-11? Portland has a better record than that. The expansion team Bobcats are 5-10, still better than the lowly Rockets. And I know what you're thinking, T-Mac's been hurt, Bob Sura is down, some other people on that team whose names I can't remember are injured, but seriously 4-11? I can't get over that. Jeff Van Gundy should be pulling out his hair...oh wait never mind.

Fuck it, Detroit and San Antonio should just join together to make one great, big superpower team. Can you imagine a frontcourt with Tim Duncan and Ben Wallace? Or a backcourt with Chauncey Billups and Manu Ginobili? Two defensive stoppers in Bruce Bowen and Tayshaun Prince. Tony Parker driving the lane and kicking it out to Rip Hamilton for the easy two. Rasheed Wallace and Robert Horry hitting threes together! That would be some type of team. *drools* Sorry, I just dripped a little on my keyboard. Anybody else looking forward to the rematch on Christmas? I am. But not as much as I'm looking forward to the one in June. Yeah, I said it, tell me I'm wrong.

I was one of the people that questioned Jerry West's moves during the offseason, but now that I've seen what the Grizzlies are doing this year I must say that Jerry West knows more about basketball than I ever will. I didn't think Memphis would be this good after they got rid of what seemed like half their roster, but they're clicking on all cylinders right now. The veterans are playing well, the young guns are stepping up, and the Czar is still the Czar. I wouldn't be surprised if they slipped into that 4th spot. They're only a half-game back now.

It's nice that Earl Watson is finally getting some playing time in Denver. I was mad when I found out he wasn't getting any play at first, but now that George Karl is giving him a chance I expect him to stay apart of the regular rotation. And speaking of the Nuggets, Marcus Camby is a beast! When this dude is healthy, he's capable of 20 and 20. Holy shit, Denver is playing against the Hornets right now, and Marcus Camby has 8 blocks! If he keeps this up, there's no way he won't make the All-Star team.

And one last thing on the Central Division, it is the strongest division in the league. All five teams are currently in position to make the playoffs. I would love it if the Pistons, Cavs, Pacers, Bucks, and the Bulls all made it to the postseason. As I said before, that would be something special.

That was Monie's Blog "NBA notes". Hate 'em? Like 'em? I don't give a shit; I'll still keep doing them.

Some things should never happen

2005-11-20T20:17:00.000-06:00

One of those things that should never happen, Ray J...remaking...Coldplay's..."Clocks". You know who Ray J is; Brandy's little brother, sorry actor, tired singer, sad rapper. And this fool had the nerve to go on Yahoo! Music and perform his own version of "Clocks". Somewhere Chris Martin just dropped Apple and isn't sure why he did.

I don't like Coldplay that much, but I happen to like "Clocks", and when I heard Ray J doing whatever he was doing to the song I almost cried. His voice is terrible and even though he didn't try to sing as high as Chris Martin he still sounded awful. Why don't you stick to messing up "One On One" and ruining your own songs, Ray J?!

NBA notes

2005-11-20T16:58:00.000-06:00

It's "NBA notes", bitches!

Detroit finally lost a game last night. And when I say "lost", I mean lost. They got their asses handed to them in Dallas. You know it's a bad game when Erick Dampier gets a double-double and Ben Wallace gets more points than rebounds. *sighes* So much for the dream of the Pistons going 82-0 this season.

And with all this talk about the Pistons, no one seems to have noticed that the Cavaliers have won seven straight games. Why won't anyone talk about how Lebron James and Larry Hughes are clicking? Why won't anyone mention how good of a coach Mike Brown has been for this team? Why doesn't anyone care? I care! Don't trade Eric Snow!

The Sacramento Kings are 4-5...anyway let's talk about Mike Bibby's problems offcourt. That's more important than what the team is doing right now. Mike Bibby has a group of close friends and family members that he calls "Team Dime". There have been rumors going around about Team Dime, that they're a bunch of thugs just living off Mike Bibby and getting in trouble. I had to pause to giggle at how funny a sentence with the words "thugs" and "Mike Bibby" is. *giggles* Okay, as I was saying, reportedly Team Dime has been causing trouble at local Sacramento clubs and getting themselves tossed out. All I have to say is, Mike Bibby needs to stop being a little bitch and control his people. Even if Team Dime is getting wrongly accused, Mike needs to step up and tell his boys to stop getting themselves into these situations. If Mike can't even be the leader of his little group, how is he going to lead the Kings anywhere?

What is Scott Skiles doing at this exact moment? Personally I think he's either throwing darts at a picture of Larry Brown, smacking Ben Gordon around, feeding Chris Duhon grapes, or watching a bootleg copy of "Get Rich Or Die Trying". You know I'm right. 1-40 that's the Bulls' record on this circus trip since the MJ era. That's not very good. After getting whooped by the Sonics on Friday, I'm hoping they can get a win in L.A. against the Lakers. But even if they don't, the Bulls still have two more chances to get a win on this West Coast road trip. They're only going to be playing the Spurs and the Rockets. Big deal, right?

Last but not least, All-Star voting started this week. Usually I just go through and pick the people from my favorite teams knowing they're not going to get in, but this year I decided to do something different. I actually went through and picked the people I believed should start based on what they've done so far this season. Here are my picks for the 2006 All-Star game starters. West: Tim Duncan, Elton Brand, Baron Davis, Jason Richardson, Marcus Camby, East: Lebron James, Jermaine O'Neal, TJ Ford, Chauncey Billups, Ben Wallace. The first name that probably pops out at people is Marcus Camby. Why on Earth would I pick Marcus Camby over Yao Ming? I chose Marcus Camby because I like what I've been seeing from him. He's averaging a double-double, he's number one in blocks; he's played solid so far this season. As long as he continues to play well, and he doesn't get hurt, he'll be getting my vote. And people better stop fucking around and get Chauncey Billups on the All-Star team. I don't care how guard-heavy the East is, he deserves it!

I enjoy these "NBA notes", don't you?

What am I listening to? Part 6

2005-11-20T00:17:00.000-06:00

Dang, what am I listening to? Probably some crappy shit.

1. Mary J. Blige- Be Without You (Hold up, Mary J. Blige actually came out with a decent song? I don't mean to sound harsh, but I haven't liked a Mary song in a minute. Nice to hear a good one from her.)

2. OutKast- Rats and Roaches (So who honestly believed that OutKast's movie and album would come out when they said it would? No one? Yeah, that's what I thought.)

3. Ludacris- Georgia (How mad was Jamie Foxx when Bobby Valentino sang his part on this song at the Vibe Awards on Tuesday? I can just see him now. "That's my song! Why is that nigga singing my song?!" Um, isn't it Ray Charles' song?)

4. Ne-Yo- So Sick (I like this boy. I may have to get his album when it comes out. Jay-Z knows how to pick them.)

5. Eminem- When I'm Gone (This song makes me sad. Despite what some people think, Em's still one of the best in the rap game.)

6. Fort Minor- Believe Me (Linkin Park who?)

7. Teriyaki Boyz- Large (The Neptunes will produce anyone, won't they? But it doesn't sound like they tried that hard on this song.)

8. Dallas Austin- The ATL (I know the people of Atlanta aren't really feeling this one, but I gotta give props for having all these artists on one song repping their city.)

9. Talib Kweli- Fly That Knot (Talib Kweli is someone who I'll never really like enough to buy one of his albums, but I like this song. I won't buy it, but I'll definitely get a burn or something.)

10. Chris Brown- Yo (Aww, he's just so cute. How can you not like him? He dances, he sings likes he's 12, he's from VA, he managed to have more than one hot song, and he's adorable. And in other news, Usher is somewhere crying...)

I told you I was listening to crappy shit.

Magical Saturday

2005-11-20T00:01:00.000-06:00

Today I watched the first two Harry Potter movies just for fun because I hadn't seen them in a while and to hype myself up to see the fourth movie when I go home for Thanksgiving break. I've been watching Prisoner of Azkaban a lot lately so it was nice looking at the two movies that stayed as close to the books as possible. Here are just a few random observations I had after watching the films again.

The kids' acting has gotten a lot better. I know this is a pretty obvious thing to mention, but I just had to say it. Looking at the Sorcerer's Stone again as much as I loved the trio, there were a few times when I actually cringed at how bad they were during certain parts of the movie. My favorite had to be Hermione's, "Harry, no way" in the first movie. Good Lord, was that the best take they got?

I know a lot of people liked the darkness of POA, but I missed the brightness of the first two movies. I absolutely love the scene in Chamber of Secrets when Harry first gets to the Burrow, and he takes in all the random magic around the home. It's so cheery and happy. A pan washing itself, knitting needles going on their own, the sun. Didn't it feel like it was always cloudy and/or raining during Prisoner of Azkaban?

The first two movies were funnier than they were given credit for. I enjoyed the subtle humor of the Sorcerer's Stone and Chamber of Secrets. Who didn't laugh when they realized that Madam Hooch jumped out of the way when Neville came riding through the crowd on his broom? I know I found it funny when Dumbledore gave his "beginning of term" speech in the first movie, and ended it with a simple "Thank you" after telling the students to avoid a "most painful death". And the second movie had plenty of funny parts, between Harry hiding Dobby in his closet, to Hedwig's bucked eyes, and every scene with Professor Lockhart was priceless.

I will be going to see Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire this weekend and from what I've heard it's the best of the four movies. I'm looking forward to seeing how it compares to the book and how it holds up as a movie. Will it be a good adaptation of the book like the first and second movies? Will it be an enjoyable movie all on its own like the third movie? Or will it take the best parts of the book and still manage to be a decent film for non-Potter fans? I'm hoping for the latter.

He's not Lil' anymore

2005-11-18T18:08:00.000-06:00

And it makes me so sad. It felt like just yesterday when he was talking about "Puppy Love", now he's saying "Let Me Hold You". Before he was telling us, "Bounce With Me", now we're not 'fresh as he is'. Can somebody tell me what happened to the Lil' Bow Wow I knew and tolerated? Oh right, he's Bow Wow now. He's the movie star now. He's the semi-thug-wannabe rapper now. He's in a public relationship now. I just watched the video for his new song, "Fresh Azimiz", and for the urban-challenged it's pronounced "Fresh As I'm Is".

So, I watched the video and I sat there thinking, "This doesn't even seem like a Bow Wow video." He was walking through a club filled with a whole bunch of women twice his age. He was giving people love as he came through, and then he sat down with the women, and he was rapping. There were cuts between this and some solo stuff, but other than that there was nothing else going on. And for some reason it really disappointed me. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it was something better than that. It looked like every other rap video out there, and I guess I'm just not use to seeing that from Bow Wow.

I know he's a young man now, but it's like the second he turned 16 you could see it starting, something or somebody was corrupting him. He wasn't Lil' Bow Wow anymore and that's cool, but damn, who is this Bow Wow person? And the better question is, where's Shad Moss? Is he still around? I had a point when I started writing this, let me see if I can remember what it was. I guess it was no matter how much you don't want to believe it, no one stays little forever. No one stays innocent forever, and I think watching that video reminded me of that. I'm not the same person I was five years ago and neither is Bow Wow. We all change eventually, for the better or the worse. I do things now that I definitely wouldn't have even dreamed of doing when I was 14, but I'm still me. I'm still Samone. But when I look at Bow Wow now, (that rhymed!), I see someone who I don't like as a person anymore. Something just isn't right with him anymore, but I can't put my finger on what it is. Maybe I'm reaching, maybe I'm overreacting; I don't know Bow Wow personally, but I just hope he's okay. I hope he's not trying to be someone he isn't.

Well, that was the worst post ever. I promise you I had a point when I started writing this.

Trade Ben Gordon

2005-11-17T01:46:00.000-06:00

That's a controversial title, ain't it? Well, I don't mean it the way it sounds. I don't want the Bulls to trade Gordon because he's playing badly; I want them to trade him because he's playing well, but Scott Skiles won't give him a chance. I don't know what Ben said or did to deserve the type of treatment he's receiving from Scott Skiles right now, but I know I don't like the fact that one of my favorite players has been put in the doghouse for no apparent reason.

It's one thing to bench a player when he's playing poorly or picking up stupid fouls, but I just don't understand why Scott is choosing not to play Ben Gordon at crucial points in the game. We all saw what he did last year in the 4th quarter, but from what I've seen he's not getting that same opportunity this year. I know Scott Skiles doesn't want the whole of the team's offense to depend solely on Ben Gordon, but come on. The boy gets hot late in the game, let him play don't substitute him for Chris Duhon, who I love just as much but he can't seem to hit shots when they need him to.

If the Bulls, particularly Scott Skiles, aren't going to utilize Ben Gordon the way they should then I think they need to let him go. He's a good player who only cares about winning not whether he starts or comes off the bench. He deserves to be given the chance to show what he can do. And at the moment, I feel like the Bulls' organization isn't giving him that chance. Maybe he'll find it somewhere else.

NBA notes

2005-11-13T21:00:00.000-06:00

Here we go again with another addition of Monie's Blog "NBA notes". Enjoy!

How bad are the Seattle Supersonics right now? They managed to get their win total up to two after beating the Toronto Raptors this afternoon in overtime. The Sonics had a 17 point lead, but they blew it and let the worse team in the NBA extend the game into overtime. I'm not sure what's going on with Seattle. Maybe the loss of Nate McMillian really hurt them. Or maybe it's the whining of Vladimir Radmanovic. Whatever it is this team needs to pull it together, Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis need to earn those captains' roles and step up for their team.

I'm still trying to figure out why I didn't think the Bucks could make the playoffs. They are playing impressive ball right now. Last night they were on their way to defeat against the Indiana Pacers, but Maurice Williams hit the game-winning shot. Michael Redd is a baller as usual, and T.J. Ford is so good right now it's scary. I'm still standing by what I said before; all the teams in the Central Division could make the playoffs this year.

And what about those Clippers? 5-1, first in the Pacific Division, who would've thought they'd be playing so well especially after Shaun Livingston went down with another injury? That veteran backcourt of Sam Cassell and Cuttino Mobley has really helped the Clippers; truthfully I didn't think Sam and Cuttino would be able to play together. Corey Maggette is back and playing well after there were rumors about him being traded. And of course I can't mention the Clippers without saying something about Elton Brand. Quality big men are hard to find, I'm sure the Clippers will be holding onto this guy for many years to come.

And speaking of L.A., let me just say that the Lakers may have found their point guard in Smush Parker. Did anybody think this guy would be balling out of his mind the way he has been? I know I didn't. The Lakers' other point guard, Sasha Vujacic is a punk. It's one thing to play hard defense, but it's another thing to take cheap shots. I don't like the kid; he needs to learn his place.

The Atlantic Division is absolutely pitiful. The Philadelphia 76ers are currently in first place in that division with a record of 3-3. How sad is that? The Knicks and the Raptors are still winless. I don't know what Boston is doing. And the Nets are looking okay, but if they want to live up to the hype they're gonna have to do a lot better than a less than .500 record.

That's it for now. More "NBA notes" soon.

No one is ever really gone

2005-11-12T16:57:00.000-06:00

I remember mentioning on my blog that R&B group, Hi-Five was recording music in 2003. Well, apparently they're still recording music in 2005. They have a new album called, "The Return", and I have heard a couple of songs off of it. The first single is "Feelin' U" featuring Paul Wall and Mike Jones. They also have another song with Paul Wall and Bizzy Bone called "Run Da Club." with my favorite lyric, "Hi-Five is up in this bitch". Hold up, Hi-Five cursed?! I think they also said 'shit' in that song. Wow, how things have changed since "The Kissing Game".

This has to be the most pathetic attempt at a comeback since BBD's ill-advised return in 2001 with them damn computer cords. Hi-Five shot a video for "Feelin' U" and if anyone's seen this please let me know, I really want to know what these guys look like now. Honestly, both the songs could be a whole lot worse, but it's sad that old school acts have to come back out and try to adapt to what's popular now, and when they do it usually comes off looking really corny. Maybe Hi-Five can break this trend with "The Return"; I doubt it though. Oh, and did someone threaten to reveal that Paul Wall really is black and force him to rap on two of their songs?

NBA notes

2005-11-11T01:59:00.000-06:00

I've decided not to change my blog into a full-fledged NBA blog, but I think I will start posting my random observations about what's going on in the league. I'll call them "NBA Notes". What an original title.

I'll start off by saying that I think the Chicago Bulls are going to be okay. They may not have a better record than they did last season, but I still believe they're going to make the playoffs. Just think about it, they pulled out their first game against Charlotte. They lost by one point to the New Jersey Nets on the road. It took an extra five minutes for the World Champion San Antonio Spurs to win their game against the Bulls. And Chicago won a close one against the Golden State Warriors last night. Feasibly the Bulls could be 4-0 if things had gone their way. I'd like to see Scott Skiles make a change in the starting lineup (Luol Deng, anyone?). If they want to be successful, the Bulls need to start and finish their games well. One last thing about the Bulls, go Michael Sweetney! Who cares if he has a little extra weight? Muscle your way to the basket!

The Detroit Pistons are 4-0, and they're the only undefeated team left in the league (They're playing the Suns in Phoenix; we'll see if that lasts). I've watched the Pistons a couple of times already this year, and they don't seem to be missing the Queen. Flip Saunders has come in and taken over this team, and it seems like he's loosened the reins on Detroit. The Pistons are definitely running more this season while still playing good defense. Detroit is proving that they're still the top team in the East.

And how is the Queen doing in New York? How's that dream job going, Queen? 0-4? What? But you're the Queen, you've got "the best point guard in the NBA", you've got Jerome James, and Eddy Curry! What's the matter? Are you missing coaching a decent team? Aww, I'm sorry, but alas the season is still young. You've got a chance. Don't give up yet, Queen, I'm sure Jamal Crawford will start playing defense soon.

The Sacramento Kings fell to a dismal 1-4 this season after a loss to the Denver Nuggets last night. All I have to say is, what's going on? This team was poised to win the Pacific Division, now they might lose it to the Clippers, or the Warriors, or even worse the Lakers! Fire Adelman! Trade Peja! Steal Mike Bibby's nail clippers! Off with their heads! All right, step back, take a deep breath and remember that things could be worse. At least everyone is healthy...oops, I forgot Francisco Garcia is out with an injury. The Kings wouldn't be the Kings without someone being hurt. But seriously give this team some time, they'll figure it out.

Shaq is out in Miami, what ever will they do? Ahem, don't forget about Dwyane Wade! Don't ever forget about Dwyane Wade. He's still playing, and he's strong as ever. He'll put the Heat on his back and carry them until the big man gets back. They've started kind of slow, but I don't expect that to last. And is that really the same 'Zo that was close to retiring?

I love Shawn Marion. I mean, how can you not? He'll give the Suns 20 and 10 without even trying. I bet the Kings are wishing they had kept Eddie House. He's been playing really well in Phoenix off the bench. Does anyone else enjoy Boris Diaw's accent? I know I do. One more note on the Suns, Steve Nash looks comfortable as hell whenever he's on the bench. He's always laid out on the floor just relaxing. I wish I could be that comfortable on a hardwood floor.

I guess that's it for now. I am going to make this a regular post. Whoo-hoo!

School's no fun without a "Class Clown"

2005-11-06T21:39:00.000-06:00

And just after I make a post about wanting to turn my blog into a NBA blog, I decide to do a little post about the new love of my life, yes, I have many of them. But this one's name is Brandon T. Jackson. I mentioned him before in my review of "Roll Bounce" in which he played Junior, my favorite character in the movie.

I got the urge to see if this guy was doing anything new, and I found out he was apart of the "Teens of Comedy" tour. I heard about this a while ago, but I couldn't find any information on it for some reason until today when I stumbled across the "Teens of Comedy" site. The home page had me crackin' up because it showed the clip of Brandon and Lil' J.J., who is also on the tour, from the BET Comedy Awards. Lil' J.J. and Brandon were out there to present an award, but Brandon showed up on skates to promote "Roll Bounce". He was doing pretty good until he decided to showboat and do a split. I had to laugh because of the way he yelled, "Aw, hell!" after he got stuck on the floor. Oh, and I forgot to mention I started bustin' up when he was talking about Bow Wow, and he sang "Let Me Hold You" before going into "Touch". Like Lil' J.J. said, Omarion wasn't in "Roll Bounce".

Brandon T. Jackson is like the 2005 version of Nick Cannon. He's hilarious, and he's not bad on the eyes either. I really hope things work out well for this boy, I'm hearing that he's working on a show for one of these kid networks called "The Class Clown". I know I'd watch it if it got picked up.

I've been doing some thinking...

2005-11-06T18:30:00.000-06:00

A dangerous pastime, I know, but seriously I've been thinking about converting my blog into a NBA blog. That's all I talk about most of the time anyway so why not just turn it into a full-fledged basketball blog with my rantings about what's going on in the league? I'm going to give it some thought and post my decision soon.

It's so sad...but I can't stop laughing

2005-11-05T23:35:00.000-06:00

I can barely post this because I'm still laughing. The Chicago Bulls played the New Jersey Nets on the road tonight. It's one of the few Bulls' game I get to see while I'm stuck up here at Northern. I was so looking forward to watching this game because I knew it would be a close one, and it was. The Bulls were down by seven with about two minutes left, but they managed to come back and get a two point lead. But in New Jersey fashion, Richard Jefferson got a three point play and won the game for the Nets, 100-99.

The only reason why I was laughing was because the Bulls had 1.5 seconds to get a shot off to win the game, and the only person who was open was Andres Nocioni, and he got his shot attempt blocked by Vince Carter. I started laughing right after it happened because one, why was Noc even out on the court in that situation anyway? He's known more for his pesky defense, not his offense. And two, out of all the players to throw the ball to, you throw it to Noc, who decides to put up an ill-advised shot instead of passing it back to someone who can actually shoot. But then he doesn't even get the shot off, he gets it blocked by Vince Carter. It was probably more to keep from crying, but I just started bustin' up. It was the worse possible way to end a game. I actually thought the Bulls might win this game, but they let me down. It's cool though, because this game showed me that Chicago is still capable of playing tough, and Kirk Hinrich is the man! Maybe they can steal the next game against the Spurs on Monday...right.

One last thing before bed

2005-11-03T01:46:00.000-06:00

I just want to thank Reebok for that new Allen Iverson commercial. It's a beautiful thing, A.I. is a beautiful thing. Thank you, Reebok, for showcasing what an amazing man he is. And thank you for showing him without a shirt on. It made my day just a little bit brighter.

I may have to reassess some things

2005-11-03T01:26:00.000-06:00

I know it's only two nights into the season, but got damn, the Milwaukee Bucks are killing! They came into Philly last night and won by 9 in overtime. And tonight they go into New Jersey and beat them by 14. Michael Redd snapped off for 41 points! Number one pick, Andrew Bogut had a double double, 10 and 17. And Mr. T.J. Ford is playing like he was never injured with 21 points and 6 assists.

In my "30 Teams, 30 Predictions" post I had the Bucks missing the playoffs, and I know it's only two games, but maybe I underestimated this team. I'm actually rooting for them to make it to the postseason. Can you imagine if all five teams in the Central Division made the playoffs? That would be something special.

Chris Duhon, you were always my stud

2005-11-03T00:46:00.000-06:00

Eww, that title sounds like a line from a cheesy love letter. But anyway, I just had to post and give props to Chris Duhon for playing his ass off tonight against the Charlotte Bobcats. The Bulls were down by 22 at one point in the game, but Chris help lead the team to a 109-105 win in OT. Chris Duhon recorded his first triple double tonight: 18 points, 10 rebounds, and 12 assists. He also only had 2 turnovers and got 2 steals.

At the beginning of last season, most people thought Chris Duhon was a long shot to make the Bulls' team. Shoot, some even thought he didn't deserve to make the team at all. But who was rooting for him when almost everyone else was down on him? *raises hand* I was. I've always loved this boy, and I've known for a while what type of player he is. He may not fill up the stat sheet, but by the end of the game you realize that his scrappy play has helped win the game.

So I just wanted to say congrats to Chris for getting the triple double and earning that Captain's job, you deserve it. Get well, Kirk, the Bulls need you too.

30 Teams, 30 Predictions: The Overview

2005-11-01T14:36:00.000-06:00

Well, I actually managed to finish this before the season started tonight. Whoo-hoo for non-quitters! Ntway, I figured I would go through and make the list of the teams that, according to my predictions, would make the playoffs. I will be adding a few new comments about each team.

Eastern Conference

1. Miami Heat (52-30)- If this team doesn't produce the way Pat Riley wants it to by the All-Star break, I'd expect some changes to happen *coughslookoutStanVanGundy!coughs*.

2. Detroit Pistons (49-33)- I still believe that the Pistons and the Heat are the two top teams in the East. And Pistons' fans can breathe easy, Tayshaun Prince is locked up for another five years.

3. New Jersey Nets (48-34)- Is it wrong that Nenad Krstic could be the unsung hero of this team?

4. Indiana Pacers (47-35)- Looking back on it I should've given the Pacers a better record than the Nets. I probably took Ron Artest's crazy pills by accident the day I wrote up Indiana's post.

5. Cleveland Cavaliers (45-37)- So Eric Snow will be starting for the Cavs this year. Hmm, I don't know what to think about that. Go old-ass veteran!

6. Chicago Bulls (44-38)- I have the Bulls making the playoffs? *shrugs* It's up to you, Kirk. Not Tyson, not Ben, not Luol, but you. You're the leader, and you have to play well otherwise my prediction is screwed.

7. Philadelphia 76ers (43-39)- Wow, Allen Iverson's been in the league for ten years. Somebody get this man a championship!

8. New York Knicks (42-40)- I gave Boston and New York the same record, but I have New York getting the tiebreaker over the Celtics. Sorry, P.P. The Knicks still suck and in any case if they get the 8th seed, the Heat will run them over with no trouble.

Western Conference

1. San Antonio Spurs (58-24)- They're stacked and they know it, and what makes it even worse is that they're damn modest about it.

2. Minnesota Timberwolves (54-28)- I'm still not entirely sure why I have the Timberwolves winning their division...or in the playoffs. But I just can't deny KG a chance to reclaim his glory after it was stomped on last year. *giggles* Plus Rashad McCants is a cutie.

3. Sacramento Kings (53-29)- It just makes the most sense that they get that third spot by winning their division. If not them, then who?

4. Houston Rockets (52-30)- Mike James must have farted on somebody in the Rockets' front office because that's the only reason I can think of that would make them trade him for Rafer Alston.

5. Seattle Supersonics (51-31)- I still have them winning 51 games and in the playoffs despite the fact that most are predicting they'd implode this season. They do still have Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis.

6. Dallas Mavericks (50-32)- I want more Avery Johnson press conferences!

7. Denver Nuggets (49-33)- This is the team that the analysts are picking to win the Northwest division, and they're probably right.

8. Phoenix Suns (49-33)- Another tiebreaker, but Denver wins it to move into the 7th spot while the Suns drop to 8th. Yes, Amaré's not playing, but they still have Steve Nash, Shawn Marion, Joe Johnson...oops, never mind.

After looking at my picks, I realized I have some tight races for the top and bottom of the playoffs brackets. Too bad none of my predictions will be accurate by the end of the year, but it was fun going through each team and writing about them. I like some teams, and I hate others, but I love the NBA, and I'm so happy that the season is starting. Can't wait to see who wins it all in June.

30 Teams, 30 Predictions: Washington Wizards

2005-11-01T00:30:00.000-06:00

The Washington Wizards beat my Bulls in the playoffs this past Spring. I still haven't gotten over that; maybe I shouldn't even bother writing about them. If I do, I'll just be bashing them the entire post and that would be bad and against everything the "30 Teams, 30 Predictions" post stands for...yeah, right! Let's get it on!

The Wizards drafted Andray Blatche, who unfortunately got shot, with their pick. They lost Larry Hughes to the Cleveland Cavaliers. But to make up for it, they traded the big-ass, bust named Kwame Brown and Laron Profit to the Lakers for Caron Butler and Chucky Atkins. The Wizards signed point guard, Antonio Daniels. They re-signed Michael Ruffin. They also signed center, Calvin Booth.

I going to be honest and say I don't give a shit about the Wizards now that Larry Hughes is not on the team. He was my only reason for even tolerating the team that "used Michael Jordan", but now that he's not there, who cares about their roster? But since I talked about key players on every other team, I guess it would only be fair for me to say something about the Wiz. Brendan Heywood is the man in the middle...does anybody remember when he got his ass punked by Antonio Davis during the preseason last year? That was funny as hell. Jarvis Hayes was that dude every Wizards fans kept mentioning during the playoffs, talking about how he was hurt and how it was affecting their team. Was it really affecting them that much? Chucky Atkins has only been in the league for six years? Why does he look so damn old? This is Caron Butler's third team; I have a feeling it won't be his last. I like Antawn Jamison more now than I did when he played in Dallas for that short time. I don't even remember when he was with the Warriors, must've been before my time. Ah yes, and Mr. Gilbert Arenas; I'm still giving him props for fixing his teeth. He did the right thing.

Blah, blah, blah, loss of Larry Hughes will hurt them. Blah, blah, blah, the East is too strong. Blah, blah, blah, as scary as Etan Thomas is, he seems like a cool person. Where was I? Oh right, my honest prediction for the Wizards this year: 37-45. That was a strange way to end this.

30 Teams, 30 Predictions: Utah Jazz

2005-10-31T13:49:00.000-06:00

Yay, only one more team to go after this one! I was watching an old Bulls/Jazz game from the 1997 NBA Finals on ESPN Classic the other day. Was anyone else kinda sad that the Bulls kept beating the Jazz and taking away their chance for a NBA title? Nah, I didn't think so. Some people expected Utah to do better than did last season, this year no one has any expectations for this Utah team.

The Jazz extended Jerry Sloan's contract. The Utah Jazz drafted Deron Williams from Illinois (Whoo-hoo!) with their 3rd pick. They signed him and their two other draft picks, C.J. Miles and Robert Whaley. The Jazz signed Milt Palacio, a 6'3 point guard. They picked up Devin Brown from the San Antonio Spurs. They re-signed guard, Keith McLeod. And Greg Ostertag returned to the Jazz after spending last season with the Kings.

The roster of the Utah Jazz includes the likes of Carlos Boozer, who came over to Utah after playing in Cleveland. He, for the most part, hasn't lived up to the hype. There's Mehmet Okur, who played in Detroit before Utah, and like Carlos hasn't performed as well as he should. Matt Harpring has been solid with his play. They have Greg Ostertag, a 7 foot center who manages to get his shot blocks by smaller players. Utah fans are looking for Deron Williams to be their point guard of the future. But I haven't mentioned AK47. Andrei Kirilenko is the best player on the Jazz. He can score, rebound, and block shots; if he would've stayed healthy last season, the Jazz may have made it to the playoffs.

Utah has been a bottom of the barrel team these last couple of years. That could easily change if AK47 stays healthy, their big men step up, and Deron Williams plays out of his mind. My honest prediction for the Jazz this year: 30-52. I just don't see them getting to the postseason in the stacked Western Conference.

30 Teams, 30 Predictions: Toronto Raptors

2005-10-30T22:19:00.000-06:00

Oh, for the love of...the Toronto Raptors?! They're worse than Portland! They're a disgrace to Canada, they're a disgrace to the NBA; they're a damn disgrace to all mankind. I don't know how anyone could actually like this team. I don't know how I'm going to get through this post. Deep breath, Samone. Okay, go!

What in the hell? Did Toronto do anything this offseason besides embarrass themselves even more? They signed two sad draft picks, Charlie Villanueva and Joey Graham. They signed Jose Calderon. They re-signed Matt Bonner. The only semi-decent thing the Raptors did all summer was trade Rafer Alston to Houston for Mike James. How they pulled that off is beyond me.

The Raptors have two players who never lived up to their full potential, Jalen Rose and Morris Peterson. They have four Williams on their team, Aaron, Alvin, Corey, and Eric, but does anyone know which one is which and more importantly does anyone care? Mike James seems more level-headed than Rafer was, but I don't know, Toronto can make players crazy. Charlie Villanueva and Joey Graham are rookies but could possibly get playing time. Chris Bosh is the only thing the Raptors have going for him. If he doesn't produce for them, they're more screwed than I thought.

Toronto is a terrible team all the way around; terrible players, a terrible coach, and a terrible front office. I can't express how disgusted I am with this team. My honest prediction for the Raptors this year: 19-63. Forget the Hornets, I think the Raptors will be the worse team in the NBA this season.

30 Teams, 30 Predictions: Seattle Supersonics

2005-10-30T21:47:00.000-06:00

Ick, Seattle. They surprised most when they won their division and made it to the postseason. But they're the team that beat my beloved Kings in five games during the first round of last year's playoffs. Let's see if I can get through this without bashing on the Sonics too much. This should be fun...not!

The Supersonics drafted center, Johan Petro in the first round of the Draft. After losing Nate McMillian to Portland, Bob Weiss took over as head coach. Jerome James went to New York, but Seattle picked up Mikki Moore to fill the void. The Sonics loss back-up Antonio Daniels to free agency, but they managed to re-sign Ray Allen after it was rumored he wouldn't come back to Seattle.

Despite the loss of key players, Seattle still has Ray Allen, an excellent shooter who can drop points effortlessly. Nick Collison has played decent off the bench. Danny Fortson will do whatever it takes to get the rebound, and he will probably lead the league in technical fouls this season. Vladimir Radmanovic played well last year and should help the Sonics win. Luke Ridnour will continue his quest to be a legimate starting point guard and try to be better than Kirk Hinrich. Rashard Lewis may be the most important piece of the Sonics. It is crucial that he stay healthy otherwise I doubt the Supersonics will get very far.

Seattle is still a good team and can make the playoffs even though some believe they'll implode after their incredible season last year. My honest prediction for the Supersonics this year: 51-31. Like Minnesota, I may have too much confidence in this team.

30 Teams, 30 Predictions: San Antonio Spurs

2005-10-30T16:18:00.000-06:00

I'm getting down to the home stretch. I may just make it before the season starts Tuesday night. And now onto the 2005 NBA Champions, those darn Spurs. For some odd reason last season the Spurs were a team few analysts picked to win the championship. People had gotten so caught up with the Suns and the Heat that it felt like no one was giving the Spurs a fair chance. Well, San Antonio proved that playing basketball "the right way" will get you the trophy. Let's see if their winning ways spill over into this season.

The Spurs made some pretty big moves this offseason. They picked Ian Mahinmi in the draft. They re-signed "Big Shot Rob", Robert Horry. They signed Fabricio Oberto, who won an Olympic gold medal with Argentina in 2004. The Spurs grabbed veteran guard, Nick Van Exel after he was waived by Portland. They re-signed forward/center, Sean Marks. And after much debate about where he would end up, Michael Finley chose San Antonio as his new home after he was released from Dallas.

What can you say about the Spurs as a whole? They have one of the best coaches in the game, Gregg Popovich. They've got defensive-minded, Bruce Bowen, who has to guard some of the best players in the league at his position. They now have Michael Finley and Nick Van Exel, who played together in Dallas, and both are known for playing hard in crunch time. The Spurs have a man in the middle, Nazr Mohammed, who has played well since moving to San Antonio. They've got a dangerous backcourt with the quickness of Tony Parker, and the just-about-everything of Manu Ginobili. The Spurs have all of this and then have the nerve to have one of the top 2 players in the league, Tim Duncan. "The Big Fundamental" does what he needs to do to win without talking trash and being overly flashy and that's why you have to respect him.

San Antonio won the trophy last season, but with the competition improving it won't be easy for them to win again. They have all the right pieces, but will it add up to another championship ring? My honest prediction for the Spurs this year: 58-24. But I wouldn't be surprised if they won more than 60 games again.

30 Teams, 30 Predictions: Sacramento Kings

2005-10-30T15:47:00.000-06:00

Whoo-hoo, I finally get to another team I love! I know what you're thinking though; the Kings have declined since they lost to the Lakers, the same way the Trailblazers did. Wrong! Portland has completely fallen apart since then, Sacramento has made it to the playoffs every year since they lost to the Lakers, and this season there are high expectations in Sac-Town after they made two huge additions to their roster.

The Kings drafted one of my favorites from this year's draft, Francisco Garcia out of Louisville, and signed him to a contract. The Kings traded back-up point guard, Bobby Jackson, and seldom-used Greg Ostertag to Memphis for Bonzi Wells. Geoff Petrie pulled off a coup when he gave up a second-round draft pick for point guard, Jason Hart. They signed free agent, Ronnie Price. They picked up big man, Jamal Sampson. Sacramento also acquired Shareef Abdur-Rahim after he was almost traded to the Nets.

The Kings have a solid roster. After a couple of years without one, they seem to finally have a decent bench with Brian Skinner, Corliss Williamson, and Jason Hart. Second year guard, Kevin Martin looks to emerge after he spent his rookie year riding the pine. And if Rick Adelman lets him play, Francisco Garcia could have an excellent rookie year ahead of him. Here's to hoping Rick puts Kevin and Franscisco out on the court at the same time, those two work well together. And what about the starting five? Shareef and Bonzi are the new guys, but they will be depended on for scoring, rebounding, and their play in the post. Brad Miller will continue to be a top five center in the league. Peja's in his contract year, and he'll have to prove he's worth the max. And then there's Mike Bibby. A lot is riding on his shoulders this season as he has declared himself the leader of the Kings. We'll have to see if he can help lead his team further into the playoffs. I'll be rooting for him and the team to do well.

Sacramento is going into this season with some predicting that they won't even make the playoffs, but others saying they'll win their division. The Kings still need to work on a few things, their defense and rebounding, but other than that they have a strong team and a strong chance in the postseason. I only have one question though, will Kenny Thomas' sour grapes about not starting lead Geoff Petrie to move him before the trade deadline? I guess we'll see. My honest prediction for the Kings this year: 53-29. Go Kings!

30 Teams, 30 Predictions: Portland Trailblazers

2005-10-30T15:07:00.000-06:00

Eww, this is the one I've been dreading. The team that's been sliding downhill since 2000. The team that makes most people's skin crawl. I actually have to write about the Portland Trailblazers? That's no fun! It's just not fair to have to post about such an awful team! Oh well, if I must...

The Trailblazers drafted Martell Webster and Jarrett Jack in the NBA Draft this summer. Nate McMillian left Seattle and became the head coach of the Blazers. They signed Forward Sergei Monia to a contract. They waived Nick Van Exel and Derek Anderson and signed Juan Dixon and Charles Smith. They also signed white-boy-extraordinaire, Steve Blake.

The Blazers have a few bright spots on their team. Jarrett Jack has the potential to have a great rookie season. Sebastian Telfair is starting to pull himself together. Joel Przybilla may be slightly overrated, but he's still a decent center for them. And Nate McMillian showed he was a good coach last year with the Sonics. Other than that The Trailblazers are a train wreck waiting to happen with the pouting of Darius Miles and the ineffectiveness of Zach Randolph.

Portland will most likely be one of the worst teams in the Western Conference despite the addition of Nate McMillian. I don't even want to say anything else so I'll end this post now. My honest prediction for the Trailblazers this year: 23-59. And even that may be too generous.

Just two random things

2005-10-28T00:23:00.000-05:00

I really like that Finish Line commercial with Jermaine O'Neal. He looked confused after coming out of a machine, but not as confused as you would think. I wish I had a vending machine that gave me cute NBA players in nice shoes with just the push of a button.

I've also been watching some preseason games on TNT, and as I posted before Reggie Miller will be joining Ernie, Kenny, and Sir Charles in the studio. They showed a clip of Reggie on Letterman last night, and it looked like he got his snaggleteeth fixed. Maybe the time off has done him some good. Reggie looks...better. It's been a long night of updating the blog so let's just leave it at that.

30 Teams, 30 Predictions: Phoenix Suns

2005-10-27T23:40:00.000-05:00

It pisses me off that people think the Suns brought back the "running and gunning" style of play. The Kings were running and gunning before they were. Yeah, so now that I've gotten that out the way, the Phoenix Suns were one of the surprise teams of last year. They had the best record in the NBA, but fell to those darn Spurs in the Western Conference Finals last season in five games. Their roster's changed a bit, but I still think they have enough to be a contender for the championship.

Like I just mentioned the Suns tweaked their roster over the summer to give them more depth and size. They traded Quentin Richardson to New York for Kurt Thomas. The Suns signed-and-traded Joe Johnson to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Boris Diaw and two future first-round draft picks. They signed Raja Bell. The Suns picked up the surprisingly, sought after, Brian Grant. They acquired James Jones from Indiana in a sign-and-trade. And Phoenix signed instant-offense-off-the-bench guard, Eddie House (And I'd like to add that I'm still the one and only member of the "I'll 'House' Ya, Eddie House" fan club).

The Suns' team may not be running and gunning as much as they did last year with the loss of Q Rich and J.J., but the MVP, Steve Nash will probably score more points this year in addition to his wonderful passing. Shawn Marion may average another double-double playing the 4 again. Kurt Thomas could be the inside presence the Suns were missing last year. Jim Jackson should have another solid year coming off the bench. Raja Bell was a good addition as a veteren who can still put up points. But I'm so sad to report that Amaré Stoudemire, who had an amazing season last year, will be out for four months with a knee injury. He's so good, and it makes me mad that he won't be in action for so long. The Suns are going to miss him.

Phoenix won't surprise anyone this season. Even with Amaré out, the Suns are still a dangerous team. Some think they won't get back to the playoffs without one of their All-Stars, but I disagree. My honest prediction for the Suns this year: 49-33. They're going to the playoffs, damn it!

30 Teams, 30 Predictions: Philadelphia 76ers

2005-10-27T23:03:00.000-05:00

Let me just say right off the bat that I am absolutely in love with Allen Iverson. He has been one of my favorite players for many years now. His heart and intensity for the game of basketball are what really make me respect him (And the fact that he's fine as hell doesn't hurt either). But I digress, the '6ers made it back to the playoffs last season but were bounced out by the Pistons. The question is, can A.I. get him and his team back to the Finals and get that championship he deserves?

I would say the 76ers had a productive offseason. They hired Maurice Cheeks, a man Allen Iverson has a great deal of respect for, as the head coach. They drafted Louis Williams in the second round in 2005. The '6ers resigned two of their important pieces, Kyle Korver and Samuel Dalembert. They signed center, Steven Hunter. And they also picked up free agent, Lee Nailon.

The 76ers still have a lot of the players that helped them get to the playoffs last year. There's Samuel Dalembert, who signed a big contract this summer. He'll be expected to play well and earn that money. And John Salmons, who dropped 30 the other night against the Knicks. Like I've said before, Kyle Korver shoots threes. The other A.I., Andre Iguodala now has a year of experience and his high flying dunks and defense should get better. But what about Chris Webber? He was acquired by the '6ers mid-season last year from Sacramento. He still has the ability to hit the jumper, get to the basket, rebound, and pass. Can his knees hold up this season? The Answer should continue to fill the stat sheet. I only hope that it doesn't include turnovers too.

Recently Philadelphia has been one of those teams that's had to try so hard to get to the playoffs only to end up getting tossed out in the first round. Some believe with Mo Cheeks in Philly he'll be able to control Allen Iverson and make him play team ball. I know Allen likes the man, but I still don't know if he'll like him so much as a coach. And I can't forget the other question on people's minds about Philadelphia, can C Webb and A.I. co-exist on the same team for a whole season? Only time will tell. My honest prediction for the 76ers this year: 43-39. That'll be enough to get them to the playoffs.

30 Teams, 30 Predictions: Orlando Magic

2005-10-27T22:22:00.000-05:00

I'm still trying to finish this installment of posts, but I've been slowed by school and a hospital visit. Well, I'm gonna try and get back to it and finish it before the season starts on Tuesday. Here we go.

What in the hell has been wrong with the Orlando Magic these past two seasons? The year before last they struggled and ended up trading Tracy McGrady for Steve Francis. Last season the Magic looked like they would make it to the playoffs, but they fell apart late in the year. This season they're looking to get back to the postseason.

Damn, did the Magic do anything this offseason? They brought Brian Hill back in as the head coach after he helped lead the Magic to the Eastern Conference Finals in '95. They drafted Fran Vazquez in the first round of the 2005 Draft, and Travis Diener in the second round. Orlando signed free agent guard, Keyon Dooling after he had a good season coming off the bench in Miami. They also signed fan favorite, Bo Outlaw.

The Magic have a roster capable of making it to playoffs if they play well and get some luck on their side. Steve Francis seems to have settled down in Orlando especially after his "special friend", Cuttino Mobley was traded to Sacramento last season. Grant Hill made his miraculous return last year and played better than anyone expected. Now if he can just stay healthy... Jameer Nelson was a rookie last season backing up and playing beside Steve Francis; his play should improve under Brian Hill. Ah yes, and then there's Dwight Howard. I'm watching him play right now, and I gotta say give this kid another year or so and he's gonna be a monster! (I mean that in a good way, not in the 'Ervin Johnson' way.)

Orlando has potential. Brian Hill did get the Magic to the Eastern Conference Finals, granted Shaq was on that team, but still. I like this team, but I think the East is just too strong this season for Orlando to handle. My honest prediction for the Magic this year: 31-51. But that could all change if Grant Hill could just stay healthy!

30 Teams, 30 Predictions: New York Knicks

2005-10-18T20:09:00.000-05:00

Another team I'm not that fond of, but honestly can you blame me? Knicks' fans barely like their own team, how am I supposed to feel about them? I'll try and be unbiased. This is hard as hell!

The New York Knicks sent forward Kurt Thomas to Pheonix in exchange for streaky shooter, Quentin Richardson and the draft rights to Nate Robinson. They drafted Channing Frye and David Lee. The Queen got his dream job when he decided to leave the team he led to the Finals two years in a row and coach the Knicks. The Knicks signed "star" center, Jerome James after he had one semi-decent season and postseason. New York traded promising forward, Michael Sweetney and Tim Thomas to the Bulls for the defensively-challenged, Eddy Curry and the aging Antonio Davis. The Knicks picked up free agent, Matt Barnes. And the overpaid Allan Houston recently announced his retirement.

The Knicks are an interesting group. Let's start with Jamal Crawford. The young man who after five years in the league is still playing like a rookie. They got his former teammate, Eddy Curry, who has health problems and the inability to grab rebounds. There's Penny Hardaway, who's over the hill. Quentin Richardson is a player I enjoyed watching while he was in Phoenix. I'll miss him and J.J. hitting threes together. And then there's Mo Taylor, one of the few players I actually like on this team, but I liked him better on the Rockets. Matt Barnes hustles and is a scrappy player. I almost forgot "the best point guard in the NBA", Stephon Marbury, tell that to Steve Nash and a healthy Baron Davis and see what they have to say about that statement.

New York, what more can I say? With this roster and the Queen I believe they'll make it to the playoffs...but if they don't I'll be laughing my ass off. My honest prediction for the Knickerbockers this year: 42-40. I just realized I spent this whole post bashing the Knicks...eh, who cares?

What am I listening to? Part 5

2005-10-18T15:20:00.000-05:00

Now it's time for another one of these posts. Enjoy!

1. Bun B- Trill Recognize Trill (It sure does)

2. Three 6 Mafia- Stay Fly (I hated this song when I first heard it, but after a while it just grew on me. Will Three 6 Mafia ever go away?)

3. Nelly- Grillz (Nelly and Paul Wall on a song together about grills...was there anyone who didn't see this coming?)

4. Ying Yang Twins- Shake (Good use of a sample and Pitbull just makes it even better)

5. Gwen Stefani- Luxurious (Another good, but overused sample on this one. Gwen has been doin' it as a solo artist, and adding Slim Thug on the remix will do wonders for her street cred.)

6. Twista- Girl Tonight (It took a few listens before I started liking this one. Yay, Twista, you can do it without Kanye!)

7. R Kelly- Trapped in the Closet Chapter 6 (It just keeps getting worse. I'm dreading and looking forward to hearing how this all ends.)

8. Ne-yo- Stay With Me (This kid sounds like a mixture between Usher and Mario. That's not a bad mix, but I hope he can find his own voice.)

9. Black Eyed Peas- My Humps (The Black Eyed Peas managed to make one of the worse, yet catchiest song ever. Damn you and your lady lumps!)

10. Trey Songz- Gotta Go (:sighes: This one will have you wishing he would stay a little longer. Could his voice be any sexier?)

I just threw this list together because I felt like I was doing too much about basketball...Knicks preview coming soon!

30 Teams, 30 Predictions: New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets

2005-10-16T16:08:00.000-05:00

I've always had a soft spot for this team even before the devastation of Hurricane Katrina left them without a home. This season I may not get a chance to see them play, but I can only hope they play hard not just for the team but for the people of their city. I know Oklahoma City is happy to have them, but I'm sure the Hornets are anxious to get back home.

The Hornets signed my favorite player from this year's draft, Chris Paul. They re-signed Bosjtan Nachbar and signed Arvydas Macijauskas (They've got some serious names). The Hornets were yet another team involved in that trade. They acquired forward, Rasual Butler from Miami and guard Kirk Snyder from Utah as part of the five team, 13-player trade. The Hornets sent the rights to Roberto Duenas to Miami as part of the trade. Chris Anderson re-signed with the Hornets. They traded Dan Dickau to Boston for a 2006 second-round draft pick.

The Hornets had to move to the Western Conference once the Bobcats came into league, and they suffered because of it. But the Hornets have potential because they have three decent big men in Jamaal Magloire, P.J. Brown, and Chris Anderson. They have a veteran guard, Speedy Claxton, and an offensive presence in the underrated, Rasual Butler. I will try not to gush too much over Chris Paul and J.R. Smith, but those two could become one of the best backcourts in the league in a few more years.

New Orleans was one of the worse teams in the league last year, but I don't think they'll be that bad this season. I'm not putting all my hopes and dreams on Chris Paul, but I do think he'll do well in his rookie season. Him and J.R. are going to make things a lot more interesting for the people of Oklahoma City. My honest prediction for the Hornets this year: 20-62. Aww man, I have the Hornets being the worse team in the NBA. Sorry, guys.

30 Teams, 30 Predictions: New Jersey Nets

2005-10-16T15:34:00.000-05:00

Why are all these teams I don't like right next to each other alphabetically? Anyway, like always I'll try not to be biased, but I really can't stand New Jersey. After they completely dismantled the team I loved last offseason, I started to hate them with a passion. Don't be biased, Samone. Don't be biased. Okay, here it goes.

The Nets signed their draft pick, Antoine Wright. They re-signed Clifford Robinson. A trade to get power forward, Shareef Abdul-Rahim failed, and he ended up with the Sacramento Kings (Yeah!). They picked up free agents, Scott Padgett, Lamond Murray, and the Monie-coined Clever N****, Jeff McInnis. They also acquired Marc Jackson from the Philadelphia 76ers.

Jason Kidd is a shell of the point guard he use to be. Richard Jefferson, in my opinion, isn't as good as everyone else thinks he is, and he has one of the worse speaking voices I've ever heard. Nenad Krstic, who the hell is that? Jeff McInnis and Scott Padgett are nice pickups for them, but the Clever N**** has some issues, and what exactly can Scott Padgett do? And what can I say about Vince Carter? He can be a great player when he's not injured or begging to be traded.

:yawns: The Atlantic division is so pathetic that New Jersey will probably win it unless J Kidd and Vinsanity go down with injuries leaving Richard Jefferson to scratch his head and ponder, "What the Fuck?". My honest prediction for the Nets this year: 48-34. I got through that without being biased, right?

30 Teams, 30 Predictions: Minnesota Timberwolves

2005-10-16T15:10:00.000-05:00

I dislike the Minnesota Timberwolves more than the Milwaukee Bucks, but I am going to get through this post without bashing them too much. In fact, I actually have some good words for the T'Wolves. They're surprising words especially after the debacle they called last season, but I don't think a team that has one of the best and most passionate players in the NBA can be that bad two years in a row.

The Wolves brought in a new head coach, Dwane Casey. They signed their draft pick, Rashad McCants. The T'Wolves traded Sam Cassell to the Clippers for Marko Jaric. They re-signed Mark Madsen, Anthony Carter, and Eddie Griffin. And they signed free agent, Dwayne Jones.

The Timberwolves still have Kevin Garnett. In spite of everything, KG is still in Minnesota, and he's ready to play and get his team out of the lottery basement. Some are predicting that center, say it with me now, Michael Olowokandi, may have a breakout season this year. The Alien is in L.A. now so Troy Hudson will have to step up as the starting point guard. Marko Jaric will mostly likely be his partner in the backcourt. I hope the rookie, Rashad McCants gets an opportunity to play. Trenton Hassell should be solid. And hopefully Wally Szczererbiak will stop acting like a punk bitch and accept his role.

Minnesota was the team most thought would win it all last year, but they fell flat on their faces. This season no one is even talking about them, and that's why I think they're going to at least get to the playoffs. I even think they're going to surprise people and win their division. KG has a lot to prove this time around. My honest prediction for the Timberwolves this year: 54-28. I'm way too confident in this team.

The 'Rev' can 'Run' my house

2005-10-16T14:00:00.000-05:00

I watched "Run's House" last night and was pleasantly surprised. "Run's House" follows Rev Run of Run DMC as he balances his life with his wife and children and releasing a new album. I expected the show to be lame, but I really enjoyed the first episode.

It focused on Run's daughter, Angela. She's graduating from high school and has gotten good grades, and Run and his wife, Justine, promised to reward her for her grades. Angela wants to have a party, but she wants it to be over the top with Funkmaster Flex as the DJ, fireworks, and a dance floor over the pool. Of course Run doesn't want to spend all that money on a party so Angela settles for a scaled down party and admits she probably had more fun at that party than she would've at the party she originally wanted. Run appreciates how his daughter was willing to compromise and at the end of the day gives her a Mercedes-Benz.

I really like the way Run handles his kids. He doesn't fall at their feet and give them everything they want, but he does love them and treats them well. And the kids seem really grateful for what they have. The show gives Angela the appearance of being one of those spoiled, rich kids at first, but you find out that she's not. She seemed genuinely happy and surprised that she got a car. His wife, Justine, is the only problem I found; she's kind of annoying. But other than that "Run's House" could be the best reality show MTV's had since "Newlyweds".

R.I.P. Jason

2005-10-16T13:55:00.000-05:00

I would like to send my condolences to the family and friends of Atlanta Hawks' player, Jason Collier, who passed away on Saturday. The causes of his death are still unknown but most likely the 28-year-old died from cardiac arrest. My prayers are with those who loved him, and I hope they can make it through this difficult time.

30 Teams, 30 Predicitons: Milwaukee Bucks

2005-10-14T16:16:00.000-05:00

I feel bad because I've never really cared for the Milwaukee Bucks. Milwaukee. Milwaukee. It just screams boring! But this season the Bucks could actually become an entertaining team to watch and cheer for. I might just root for them myself. Milwaukee. It still sounds boring.

The Bucks did a few things this summer. After I said they wouldn't get the number one pick in draft, they got it (They should be thanking me). And who did the Bucks draft? They drafted who everyone thought any team would choose if they had the number one pick, Andrew Bogut. They gave up a second-round pick for Jiri Welsch. They re-signed old-ass, Toni Kukoc. The Bucks signed last season's Most Improved Player, Bobby Simmons. They re-signed center, Dan Gadzuric. They signed 'monster', Ervin Johnson. And the Bucks managed to lure back Michael Redd after it was rumored he wouldn't be returning to the team.

This year's team should do better than last year's. Michael Redd got his money, and the Bucks' organization hope since they invested so much in him, he can help lead them back to the playoffs. T.J. Ford will be back this season at the point after missing the whole 2004-2005 season with a spinal injury. Desmond Mason hopes his stats keep going up. Bobby Simmons should keep improving after last season. Bucks' fans are looking to Andrew Bogut to be their saving grace, but I doubt he'll be an overnight sensation.

Milwaukee, still so boring, has the misfortune of being in the toughest conference in the East, and arguably in the league. I just don't believe they have enough to make it to the playoffs this season. There are other teams who are better in the East. My honest prediction for the Bucks this year: 36-46.

30 Teams, 30 Predictions: Miami Heat

2005-10-14T13:54:00.000-05:00

And now your 2005-2006 NBA Champion Miami...whoa, wait a second. Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Miami has definitely improved over the last two years and are legitimate contenders for the title, but do they really have what it takes to steal that trophy away from the Spurs this season?

The Heat had a productive offseason. They drafted forward, Wayne Simien. They re-signed Udonis Haslem. Like I said in the Memphis post, Miami was one of the teams involved in that huge trade this past summer. The Miami Heat acquired "chucker", Antoine Walker from the Boston Celtics. They got guard Jason Williams, forward James Posey, and guard Andre Emmett from the Memphis Grizzlies. The Heat also received the draft rights to center Roberto Duenas from the New Orleans Hornets in the five-team trade. The Heat traded Eddie Jones to the Memphis Grizzlies, Rasual Butler to the New Orleans Hornets, and a 2006 second round draft pick, a conditional second round draft pick, Qyntel Woods and the draft rights to Albert Miralles to the Boston Celtics. Whoo, that's a lot. Oops, I forgot to mention they signed Gary Payton, re-signed Shandon Anderson, and picked up the team option on Alonzo Mourning. Oh right, and they re-signed Shaq.

Anyway, the Miami Heat are another team that looks good on paper. They have the best big man in the game in the middle. They've got a superstar in the making, Dwyane Wade. The Heat also have decent role players to back up their stars. But something's not right, Gary Payton, Antoine Walker, and Jason Williams on a team together? It blows my mind that Miami managed to get those three animated personalities in one offseason. It also blows my mind just thinking about how all of these players are gonna mesh. I have no doubt that D-Wade will be just fine, but Shaq might have to whip the rest of them into shape otherwise these guys won't survive a full season together.

Miami is a top 3 team in the East and possibly a top 3 team in the league. Many predict a Spurs/Heat Finals this season. I'm just looking forward to seeing this team try to work together to win. Do the Heat remind you of another team from a couple of years ago? Maybe it's just me. My honest prediction for the Heat this year: 52-30. I know some people think they'll win 60+ games, I'm not as optimistic. I also think this team may fall apart in the playoffs when they have to meet up with either Detroit or Indiana.

30 Teams, 30 Predictions: Memphis Grizzlies

2005-10-14T13:25:00.000-05:00

The Grizzlies sucked when they were in Vancouver, but when they moved to Memphis it was like the team was revived, and they began making appearances in the postseason. Although they never got any farther than the first round, I'm sure anyone involved with the Grizzlies' organization was just happy they made it to the playoffs.

The Grizzlies have been regarded as one of the deepest teams in the league. This offseason Memphis lost players and brought in new pieces. Whether they improved their roster remains to be seen. They signed their draft picks, Hakim Warrick and Lawrence Roberts. The Grizz traded Bonzi Wells to the Sacramento Kings for Bobby Jackson and Greg Ostertag. And not too long after, Memphis was apart of a huge trade with Miami, Utah, New Orleans, and Boston. They sent guards Jason Williams, Andre Emmett and guard/forward James Posey to Miami and trade newly-acquired center Greg Ostertag to Utah. In exchange, they received Eddie Jones from Miami and Raul Lopez from Utah. They also signed guard, Damon Stoudamire, and lost backup point guard, Earl Watson to the Denver Nuggets

What an interesting roster the Grizzlies have. While they still have Pau Gasol, the best player on the team, Shane Battier, Mike Miller, Lorenzen Wright, and Dahntay Jones, most of the rest of the team are new to Memphis. Bobby Jackson, Damon Stoudamire, and Eddie Jones are decent players, but none of them are as young as they use to be. I just don't see the logic in picking up these aging veterans. The Czar has a challenge ahead of him getting these players adjusted to playing with each other.

Memphis is another one of those 'wait and see' teams. You're just not sure what to expect from this group. They could end up in the lottery or they could surprise the Western Conference and get to the playoffs again. My honest prediction for the Grizzlies this year: 28-54. Dang, that's bad. I may have to change that, but for now I see this team being one of the bottom ones in the league.

30 Teams, 30 Predictions: Los Angeles Lakers

2005-10-12T16:28:00.000-05:00

And now onto that other team in L.A., the Lakers. This team has always been more about drama than basketball. I thought maybe it would calm down after one Shaq-less year, but it's only gotten worse now that the Zen Master has decided to return to the team and the man he reportedly couldn't coach anymore. :sighs: Does it ever end?

So besides good ole Phil Jackson coming back, the Lakers did draft and sign, Andrew Bynum. They also signed Smush Parker (Gotta love that name). And they traded Caron Butler and Chucky Atkins to Washington for one of the biggest busts in recent history, Kwame Brown and Laron Profit.

I don't even know what to say about this roster. On one hand they've got Kobe Bryant, a guy regarded as one of the best in the NBA, but on the other hand, the Lakers don't have a real point guard! When your choices for point guard are between Aaron Mckie and Sasha Vujacic, I'd be afraid. But then again they do have Chris Mihm, a decent center. Lamar Odom is still around despite claims that he and Kobe weren't clicking. Brian Cook? Luke Walton? Devean George? Slava? I just really don't know what to say.

The Lakers think if they have Kobe Bryant, hire Phil Jackson back, and draft 'Baby Shaq' they can get back to the playoffs. L.A. hasn't solved all their problems just yet, like I said there's still the issue of a point guard, and Kobe's chemistry with his teammates and coach. My honest prediction for the Lakers this year: 43-39. No L.A. teams in the postseason this year either.

30 Teams, 30 Predictions: Los Angeles Clippers

2005-10-12T15:56:00.000-05:00

It's hard to believe, but last season the Clippers weren't the worse team in L.A. Yes, I'm telling the truth, they had a better record than that other team, and may have a better one than them this season too. Okay, enough with the comparison, let's just talk about the Clips.

The Clippers signed free agent, Cuttino Mobley this offseason. They re-signed center, Zeljko Rebraca. Sam Cassell traded in life with KG to give it a try in L.A. They signed their second-round draft pick, Daniel Ewing and another free agent, James Singleton. The Clips acquired Walter McCarty. They also picked up Yuta Tabuse and their first-round draft pick, Yaroslav Korolev.

The Los Angeles Clippers have the makings of a squad that could possibly get to the playoffs. They have a quality big man in Elton Brand. And despite rumors of him being on the trading block, Corey Maggette is still in a Clippers uni. They now have a veteran point guard, Sam Cassell, and a sharp-shooter, Cuttino Mobley. But the player I'm most excited about seeing is Shaun Livingston. The kid didn't get a chance to show off his skills last season because of injuries, but that should definitely change this season.

The Clippers have been the butt of most NBA jokes for years. Can that change this season? Can the Clippers at least get out of the lottery and get to the playoffs? Sorry, guys, I don't think this is your year. My honest prediction for the Clippers this year: 40-42. Still not embarrassing as it could be, right?

30 Teams, 30 Predictions: Indiana Pacers

2005-10-12T15:13:00.000-05:00

The Pacers had a hell of a '04-'05 season, between Ron Artest's season-long suspension, Jermaine O'Neal's nagging injuries, and Reggie Miller's impending retirement this team should've imploded, but it didn't. The upcoming season should be interesting for Indiana, the team that managed to overcome everything that was thrown at it.

The only thing I really want to mention about the Pacers' offseason is that they finally got back their best player, Ron Artest. We all know what happened last November, but this season Ron Artest has a chance to redeem himself and help Indiana get back to the playoffs.

Now that Reggie Miller's finally retired, the Pacers will be looking for a new leader. My money is on #7, Jermaine O'Neal to take the reins and become the leader in Reggie's absence. Brian Hooks' long-lost brother, Stephen Jackson should continue to play well and have a bigger role on the team as well with Reggie gone. Jamaal Tinsley will be running the floor again, hopeful he can stay healthy, but if he doesn't Anthony Johnson will be there to back him up. Jeff Foster had a mini-breakout year last season and could be a player to give them 12 and 9. And Scot Pollard will just keep being Scot Pollard.

Indiana can only hope that this season won't be as trying as last season was, but they've proven they can handle tough situations. And with a coach like Rick Carlisle, I expect this team to improve its record and challenge Detroit and South Beach. My honest prediction for the Pacers this year: 47-35.

30 Teams, 30 Predictions: Houston Rockets

2005-10-11T15:15:00.000-05:00

Will Tracy McGrady ever get out of the first round of the playoffs? It looked like it might've happened last year, but he and the Rockets bowed out in game seven against the Dallas Mavericks. So this season the Rockets will most likely be heading back to the playoffs hoping to go farther than they've gone in years.

Houston did a few things during the offseason. They drafted U of I guard, Luther Head (Whoo-hoo!). They extended Jeff Van Gundy's contract. They picked up Derek Anderson. They signed free agent, Stromile Swift. The Rockets re-signed Jon Barry, and the aging, but still effective, Dikembe Mutombo. And recently Houston traded Mike James to the Toronto Raptors for 'Skip to my Lou', Rafer Alston.

T-Mac is one of the best players in the NBA, and with Yao Ming in the middle those two could finally become that big man-guard tandem that most hoped they would be. Looking at their roster, Houston has some pretty decent role players to help out Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming. Bob Sura's playing the point again this season. David Wesley is just so happy to be on a team that's actually competing. Stromile Swift hopes to find a new home in Houston, while Rafer Alston will try to leave his troubles back in Toronto. And Dikembe Mutombo should continue to be a good backup for Yao Ming, sometimes taking away minutes from Yao.

Houston is another team who hasn't been able to get over the hump since they won championships in '94 and '95. T-Mac and the rest hope to change that this season and capture the trophy. My honest prediction for the Rockets this year: 52-30.

30 Teams, 30 Predicitons: Golden State Warriors

2005-10-10T15:20:00.000-05:00

In the West again and onto one of the most hyped teams this year. The Warriors have always been a joke. When good teams played them, they expected to get an easy win. Well, that changed near the end of last season when something strange happened...the Warriors started competing and playing well and...winning! What?! How in the hell did this happen?

This offseason Golden State signed their first round draft pick, Ike Diogu to a contract. They also signed their second round picks, Chris Taft and Monta Ellis. The Warriors also picked up free agents, guards Aaron Miles and Ray Young, forward Justin Davis, and center Deji Akindele.

The Warriors got Baron Davis last season. B-Diddy was one of the reasons why Golden State started playing well. And then of course there's his buddy in the back court, Jason Richardson, who can throw it down better than most big men in the game (Yeah, I said it, Bill Walton!). Troy Murphy is on his way to getting 20 and 10 a night. Snot Bubble...:ahem: Derek Fisher is a decent backup for Baron Davis. The rookies will get some playing time, and after Ike Diogu heals from his injury look for him to become a go-to guy for the Warriors.

Golden State is on its way to finally giving their fans something to really cheer about. Baron Davis is the cornerstone of this franchise, but there's a big issue everyone seems to have with him. Can the dude stay healthy? If he does, there's no telling how far this team can go. My honest prediction for the Warriors this year: 41-41. What do you want me to say? Breaking even is pretty good considering.

30 Teams, 30 Predictions: Detroit Pistons

2005-10-09T19:12:00.000-05:00

Back to the East and one of the best teams in the conference. The Pistons shocked the world (not me) when they won the NBA championship in an impressive five games against the LA Lakers in 2004. This past summer they were a mere seven points away from being the champions again, but San Antonio captured the trophy and rings. Because the Pistons lost in the Finals and now have more competition in the East does it mean this team is going to fall apart? Hell no! The Pistons are just as good as they've always been and will be contenders for the championship.

This offseason the Pistons drafted and signed Jason Maxiell. They watched the Queen leave and take a job in New York after he helped lead them to back-to-back Finals appearances (More on him in the Knicks' post). But they hired Flip Saunders to replace him; a coach who finally gets a team to work with as opposed to a superstar. They signed swingman, Maurice Evans, and the ancient Dale Davis.

How much more can you add to a team that won a championship one year and got back to Finals the next year? Ben Wallace and Rasheed Wallace are one of the best big men tandems in the league. Tayshaun Prince is still improving. Antonio McDyess is a 6th Man of the Year candidate coming off the bench. And the Pistons' starting backcourt is deadly with 'Mr. Big Shot', Chauncey Billups, and the man in the mask, Rip Hamilton. Flip Saunders is the coach who may finally give Darko Milicic a chance to play. Maurice Evans will help relieve Rip Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince of all the minutes they've been playing. And Dale Davis will give them another big man to go to.

Detroit is a team everyone overlooks even though they've proven how good they can be. Their defense has been among the best in the league and that shouldn't change. They have one of the best all-around teams in the entire NBA, and they definitely shouldn't be written off just because of a team in Florida and another team that's getting one of its best players back. My honest prediction for the Pistons this year: 49-33. But as anybody who follows the Pistons knows, the real season doesn't start until April.

30 Teams, 30 Predictions: Denver Nuggets

2005-10-09T18:21:00.000-05:00

Yay! A Western Conference team I actually want to write about! Sorry, Dallas. Does anybody else remember when the Denver Nuggets sucked? Well, if you don't be glad because this is probably the best team they've had in years. Denver is home to a guy you can't mention without saying something about that other guy in Cleveland, Carmelo Anthony. Now that he and the Nuggets have the right coach and the right pieces, Denver could become the team everyone hoped it could be going into last season.

The Nuggets drafted Julius Hodge and Linas Kleiza and signed them both to multi-year deals. They also signed one of my favorite players, Earl Watson.

Denver didn't do much this offseason because they really didn't need to. They have more than enough bulk in their frontcourt with Marcus Camby, Francisco Elson, Eduardo Najera, Nene, and Kenyon Martin. Their backcourt is overflowing with guards: the rookie, Julius Hodge, Andre Miller, Voshon Lenard, Earl Boykins, and the addition of Earl Watson. And then there's Carmelo, who finally seems to be maturing and starting to live up to the hype. George Karl took over midseason last year as the coach, and he had them playing well that should continue this season.

The Nuggets were one of those teams that was expected to do better than they did last year. While I think they do have a better team this year, I don't think they're going to do any better than last year. My honest prediction for the Nuggets this year: 49-33. The same record as last year.

30 Teams, 30 Predictions: Dallas Mavericks

2005-10-08T17:22:00.000-05:00

Whoo-hoo, finally a Western Conference team! Not the first one I would pick to talk about, but I am doing this in alphabetical order so whatever. Dallas is one of those teams that's good, but they just haven't been able to get over the hump. Maybe this could be their year.

Apparently the people in the Mavericks' front office think they have all they pieces they need because Dallas made no major moves this offseason except waiving the guy who's been with the team through thick and thin, Michael Finley. They couldn't draft anybody because they had no picks this year. But the Mavs did sign disappointing 7'0 center, DeSagana Diop, and the decaying Doug Christie.

As dismal as their offseason was, Dallas does have other things going for them. Like the fact that they still have an All-Star and MVP candidate, Dirk Nowitzki. And Jason Terry proved last year that he's capable of running the point in the absence of Steve Nash. The Mavs still have a nice young tandem of players, Devin Harris, Josh Howard, and Marquis Daniels. And they have Shaq's friend, Erick Dampier and good ole Shawn Bradley.

The Mavericks haven't had that much success in the post season since they made it to the Western Conference Finals in 2003. This year with your favorite coach, and mine, Avery Johnson running the show for a whole season even with the semi-mediocre squad they have, I believe Dallas will still have a successful regular season and make it to the playoffs. My honest prediction for the Mavericks this year: 50-32. Can't wait to hear more sound bites from Avery Johnson.

30 Teams, 30 Predictions: Cleveland Cavaliers

2005-10-07T19:37:00.000-05:00

I'm done with my Bulls' rant...for now; I'm going to move on to a team that has someone very special. There are plenty of NBA teams who would love to have a star to build around the way the Cleveland Cavaliers do. If you don't know who this guy is, you must be living under a rock. His name is Lebron James, and he and the Cavs are about to make a push for a playoff position after falling apart late in the season last year.

First let's talk about who the Cavaliers brought in this summer to help LBJ finally make it to the postseason. The Cavaliers found a coach in Mike Brown. They re-signed center Zydrunas Ilgauskas after he had an all-star season last year. They signed two sought after free agents, Donyell Marshal and Larry Hughes. Cleveland picked up Alan Henderson. And recently the Cavs lured Damon Jones away from South Beach.

The Cavaliers have Lebron James, a young man poised to become arguebly the best player in the league. What more do they need? Well, as Kobe and KG learned last season one man can't do it alone. But unlike Kobe and KG, The King has a good core of players around him. Larry Hughes is the offensive and defensive compliment to James. Donyell Marshall is a big man with the ability to step back and hit the three. Damon Jones can run the point and with the defense focused on James, he'll probably be freed up to hit the outside shot. I can't forget Big Z and Drew Gooden, who will be battling Donyell for the starting spot at the 4. The Cavs are pretty deep with veteran guard, Eric Snow, Anderson Varejao, and Alan Henderson on the bench.

Cleveland looks really strong on paper, but some wonder if Lebron James and Larry Hughes can coexist together. I believe they can; Lebron is gonna get his, and Larry will have to concentrate on living up to claims that he should've been Defensive Player of the Year last season. If Lebron plays hard and everyone else knows their role, the Cavs should make it to the playoffs this season. My honest prediction for the Cavaliers this year: 45-37. One game better than the Bulls.

Kind of surprised

2005-10-07T15:04:00.000-05:00

I'm a fan of the show, a Canadian favorite, Degrassi: The Next Generation. The show gives one of the most accurate and realistic portrayals of teens trying to balance school, life, and love. The writing is good, the storylines are shocking, and the young actors give great performances as their characters. As the show seems like it's beginning to wind down, its actors are branching out into different things, and I got a taste of one of the side projects from Aubrey Graham better known as Jimmy Brooks.

Aubrey is rapping under the name 'Drake' which I believe is his middle name. I heard a few tracks from his album, and to be honest they could be a lot worse. His rhyming voice reminds me of someone, but I just can't think of who. I must say when I first heard this kid was trying to rap, I laughed. But after hearing some of his songs I'm really interesting in hearing what his album sounds like. There may be life after 'Degrassi' for Aubrey Graham.

My thoughts on the Eddy Curry trade

2005-10-07T13:23:00.000-05:00

I made a point of not really mentioning the trade in my '30 Teams, 30 Predictions' post about the Chicago Bulls because I felt it would end up taking over my whole post and overshadowing what was important. And in a sense, that's how I feel about Eddy Curry after he was dealt to New York with Antonio Davis for Michael Sweetney, Tim Thomas, and some draft picks.

In my opinion, I believe that if Eddy had signed the qualifying offer and stayed with the Bulls, he would've been a distraction and could've possibly hurt the team's chances of winning (i.e. Larry Brown's flirtations with the Cavs and the Knicks during the season may have hurt the Pistons). The Bulls' players, Scott Skiles, and John Paxson would've probably gotten sick of answering questions about Eddy and his health situation. Shit, they're probably tired of answering questions about him now, and Eddy's not even on their team anymore. Good attitudes, playing team ball, and team chemistry are all so important to the Bulls, but it was clear that Eddy, as hard as he tried, didn't really care about any of those things. Any Bulls' fan knows that until last season Eddy Curry was known more for his lack of heart (figuratively) and being out of shape than he was for his skills.

I think by trading Eddy John Paxson did what he felt was best for the Bulls' organization and for Eddy (I don't think trading Antonio Davis was apart of the plan though). I'm sorry to say this, but Eddy was starting to become that c-word that a lot of Bulls' fans referred to Jalen Rose and Jamal Crawford as, and as much as I would've liked to have seen Eddy back with the Bulls I just don't think he would've been good for the team anymore.

Guys like Ben Gordon, Kirk Hinrich, Chris Duhon, Tyson Chandler, and Luol Deng are about hard work (Have you seen Ben Gordon and Luol Deng lately? Good Lord, what's in their water?) and playing as a team, but it seemed to me that Eddy was all about himself and no one else. It's hard giving up a big man especially one with Curry's potential, but hey, I look at it this way; the Bulls stil have so much going for them. Despite what Queen Larry Brown thinks, the Bulls have a great future ahead of them. The next two years should be quite interesting for the Chi Bulls; I can't wait to see how it all plays out.

30 Teams, 30 Predictions: Chicago Bulls

2005-10-06T15:59:00.000-05:00

Bear with me again as I try to be as unbiased as possible. I really like the Bulls, and I'm going to attempt to post about them without getting all "homer-ish" as people call it online when one discusses a team they like a little too much.

Thank God the NBA season is about to start. All the drama that surrounded the Chicago Bulls during the offseason was starting to remind me of the ABC daytime television I enjoy watching instead of professional basketball. Let's see if I can relay all that happened within the Bulls' camp during TDOS (The Dreaded Off Season). Scott Skiles signed a four-year extension contract after it was rumored he may not return to the Bulls. Desperate Bulls' fans finally got the big 2-guard they wanted when Eddie Basden signed with Chicago. The Bulls matched an offer sheet for their 2004 second-round pick, Chris Duhon. Othella Harrington re-signed, while free agents, Malik Allen and Darius Songaila decided to give it a go in Bulls' uniforms. And after much negotiation, the Bulls' big man, Tyson Chandler, re-signed with his team. Oh yeah, and Eddy Curry and Antonio Davis were traded to the New York Knicks for Michael Sweetney, Tim Thomas, Jermaine Jackson, and a few draft picks, but that's not important.

What's important is that most of the Bulls' young nucleus will be back to compete for a spot in the playoffs, and this year they don't plan on getting bounced out after the first round. Scott Skiles is still coaching, which is a good thing because the players respect him. Those four incredible, history-making rookies from last year are all back, but now they're second-year players with more experience, and they're hungrier than ever to prove that the '04-'05 season wasn't just a fluke. I mentioned Luol Deng, Chris Duhon, Andres Nocioni, and Ben Gordon, but I can't speak of the Bulls without mentioning their floor leader, and in my opinion their most important player, Kirk Hinrich. I don't care what anyone says...white boy can play!

Anyway, as long as the Bulls keep that same defensive-minded mentality from last year and continue to play team ball, I don't see any reason why they can't be as good or even better than last year's team. My honest prediction for the Bulls this year: 44-38...I'm not really sure about this, but let's just see what happens.

30 Teams, 30 Predictions: Charlotte Bobcats

2005-10-05T16:41:00.000-05:00

The new kid on the block, the Charlotte Bobcats, is one of my favorite teams. Why? Why would anyone like a tired, little expansion team like the Bobcats? I'll tell you why because even though they were expected to have the worst record in the league, they surprised everyone and managed to win 18 games last season. It doesn't sound like a lot, but it is when everyone else thinks you'll barely win ten games.

The Bobcats were seeing Carolina blue when they drafted both Raymond Felton and Sean May from the NCAA Champions, UNC this past summer. They got hardly-used center, Jake Voskuhl from the Phoenix Suns. They also re-signed Matt Carroll, Kareem Rush, Brevin Knight, and Gerald Wallace. Not a bad offseason for the 'Cats, kept some old pieces and added some new ones.

Whoo-hoo, more youth! I really like the way this Bobcats team is shaping up. They're pretty deep with a mess of guards and big men to play around with in the back and front courts. Last year's Rookie of the Year, Emeka Okafor should continue his strong play this season and get better. I can't wait to see him and Sean May out there together. Raymond Felton will most likely come off the bench and back up Brevin Knight. I like the fact that Charlotte has a solid, point guard in Brevin Knight; it's always good to have a veteran handling the ball for you. And I can't forget about the high-flying, Gerald Wallace, who's finally getting a chance to show off his skills after rotting on the bench in Sacramento.

Like Atlanta, Charlotte is a up and coming team who may need a few more years to develop, but I can still see this team shocking a few people. Last year I saw flashes of what the Bobcats could become; they played hard and didn't get blown out as many times as they could have. My honest prediction for the Bobcats this year: 26-56. Not that good, but I believe Charlotte can only get better.

30 Teams, 30 Predictions: Boston Celtics

2005-10-05T15:25:00.000-05:00

I'm going to try to be as unbiased as possible when speaking of the Boston Celtics. There's just something about this team that really irks me. Maybe it's Paul Pierce, or Ricky Davis, or that mysterious spot on Delonte West's face. I just can't put my finger on what it is about the Celtics I don't like. NTway, let's get to the fun stuff.

What did the Celts do this offseason? They drafted Gerald Green, who has great potential. They signed-and-traded "Chucker"...Antoine Walker to the Miami Heat. Gary Payton headed to South Beach as well. And they recently picked up Dan Dickau. In my opinion, just by getting rid of Antoine Walker, Boston had a pretty good offseason.

Ah yes, another youth movement, how exciting. The Celtics have a good amount of promising, young talent on their roster this year. Not only are there the rookies; Gerald Green, Will Bynum, and Ryan Gomez, but don't forget that Tony Allen is only 23, Al Jefferson is only 20, and Delonte West is 22. These kids still have so much more to learn, and they still have time to improve their games. And under the leadership of their vets, Paul Pierce and Ricky Davis, and one of my favorite coaches straight out of Maywood, Doc Rivers, this team still has a chance to make it to the playoffs and win their division again despite what some believe.

Boston is going to put up a fight to win the pathetic, Atlantic Division title again, and I still think they could slip into that third spot again this season. My honest prediction for the Celtics this year: 42-40. It may not be enough to get the division title, but it could possibly get them into the playoffs.

30 Teams, 30 Predictions: Atlanta Hawks

2005-10-04T16:32:00.000-05:00

I said I was going to do this post, but I've changed my mind. I'm now gonna try to do this post. Hopefully I'll be able to get through all 30 teams before the season starts. That means I'll probably have to do multiple posts a day. Who thought this was a good idea?

Okay then, so let's start with one of the worse teams from this past season, the Atlanta Hawks. This offseason the Hawks attempted to improve their roster by drafting NCAA Champion UNC forward, Marvin Williams and the red-hot shooter out of Arizona, Salim Stoudamire. They picked up free agent, Zaza Pachulia. They also signed (stole) 3-point specialist, Joe Johnson after he had a great season with the Phoenix Suns.

The Hawks won't go 13-69 this year. I actually like the Hawks for some reason. I like their core of young players; with a year of experience under their belts I expect the two Joshs (Smith and Childress) to both have breakout years. Marvin and Salim should thrive because both will get plenty of minutes. I only have a few problems with this Hawks squad. Of course there's the fact that their best players all can play or do play the same position. And I also think they need a real point guard to lead this team. I know Joe Johnson can play the point, but he and Tyronn Lue, a poor man's Allen Iverson, just aren't enough. And lastly there's Al Harrington. He's a big question mark. Can he stay healthy? Will the Hawks' management even keep him around or will they finally trade him?

I'm interested in seeing how the ATL Hawks do this season. I know most analysts are saying give this team another two or three years, but I believe that the Hawks, along with a few other teams, might shock a few people. My honest prediction for the Hawks this year: 24-58. Okay, so it's only an 11 game improvement, but I gotta be realistic.

Bust out your skates and "Roll Bounce"

2005-10-03T13:14:00.000-05:00

I'm disappointed with that title; oh well, moving on. I had the opportunity to go see "Roll Bounce" this weekend. Honestly, I went into this movie with little expectations. I just hoped it would be better than "You Got Served", and it definitely was. In fact, "You Got Served" doesn't even deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence as "Roll Bounce" except this one.

"Roll Bounce" is the story of a group of five teenage boys on the southside of Chicago who spend their summer days at the local roller rink skating...and skating well I might add. The leader of the group is X played by 'the little rapper that could', Bow Wow. X and his friends, Naps (Rick Gonzalez), Boo (Marcus T. Paulk), Mixed Mike (Khleo Thomas), and Junior (Brandon T. Jackson), are the best skaters on their side of town, but when their beloved rink is closed down after 25 years, X and the crew are forced to trek over to the dreaded Northside and skate at its rink, Sweetwater. X is reluctant at first, but soon becomes determined to rule the rink and grab the reins from the current king of the rink, the arrogant, knows-he's-good, Sweetness.

Along the way, X meets Tori. She's a new girl in town played by, the only working member of her family, Jurnee Smollett. X is friendly to her, but his guys, mainly Junior, spend the whole movie cracking jokes about her and her braces, but they come to accept her as a part of their little clique. X also meets back up with a girl he once avoided on the Northside but has now fallen for, Naomi played by Meagan Good.

X also has to deal with the passing of his mother, who encouraged him to skate, his bratty little sister, and his hard-nosed father played perfectly by Principal Harper...I mean, Chi McBride. X and his father clash over X's skating; X loves it while his father believes he should be doing something more constructive with his time (all the while, the father is out of work and searching for a job despite making X and his sister believe he's still working).

Eventually the five boys battle it out with Sweetness and his crew in a group skate-off to see who will have run of the rink and bragging rights. Apparently in competitive skating, song choice is key, but in "Bring-It-On-esque" fashion, Sweetness' group uses the same song in their routine as X's group, and they're forced to change their song at the last minute. I won't completely spoil the movie, but let's just say the ending follows the trend of most recent sports/competition movies. Oops, maybe I did kind of spoil it, sorry.

Bow Wow gave a good performance as X. He made the character sincere, likable, and someone the audience wanted to root for. There were also very funny performances given by Charlie Murphy and Mike Epps as Victor and Byron two garbagemen who talk more trash than they pick up, and Nick Cannon as Benard an employee at Sweetwater who has the habit of giving poor Rick Gonzalez the wrong sized skates and pretty decent advice near the end of the movie. I loved Wesley Jonathan as Sweetness, who had more looks than lines, but still put in a memorable performance. But the guy who stole the show for me was definitely Junior. Brandon T. Jackson was hilarious the whole movie, and I enjoyed the way he and Jurnee Smollett played off each other. He should be getting more roles after this.

"Roll Bounce" was fun, heart warming, and entertaining. The music was great. I enjoyed the fact that it was predictable without being too predictable. X could've easily gotten with Tori in the end, but he didn't, and there also could've been more conflict between the boys, but I was happy there wasn't. I also enjoyed the playful banter between the five boys and Tori; they would talk about each other, but they would still be cool much like most groups of teenage friends. I was pleasantly surprised by this film, but I don't know why. It was directed by Malcolm D. Lee, who directed two of my favorite movies, "Undercover Brother" and "The Best Man". "Roll Bounce" made me want to tie up my skates, rock some old school music, bounce, and roll.

I want one!

2005-10-03T12:16:00.000-05:00

A 3 feet tall Ben Gordon bobblehead! I would hug him and love him and stroke him and I would call him George and...sorry. I got a little carried away. Sanity and the "Roll Bounce" review are coming soon.

I'm Back!

2005-10-03T10:07:00.000-05:00

It's been a long time, I shouldn't have left you without some dope posts to read too... yeah, that was lame. Well, I'm back after not posting in two weeks. It's gonna be a long week, but I'll try to get up my review of "Roll Bounce", my thoughts on some new TV shows this year, and :sighs: 30 teams, 30 predictions. That'll be so much fun.

And I'd just like to add that my little blog has been up for over a year now. I cannot believe it! So I just want to say thanks to whoever comes across my blog and reads it. I'm going to try and keep it going for another year!

I can't see the Bulls without him

2005-09-18T16:10:00.000-05:00

I started my first job yesterday, but am I going to talk about it? Nope, I'd rather focus on the situation between Eddy Curry and the Bulls. I said I was sick of the drama, and I am, but I can't help talking about this because every time I go to this Bulls' message board I lurk there's new news about Eddy signing the qualifying offer, or Eddy demanding a trade, or Eddy not taking a DNA test, or Eddy eating a snow cone. It's gotten absolutely ridiculous, and I'd like it to end.

Even if it involves Eddy just signing the 1-year QO, or if he finally swallows his pride and accepts John Paxson's multi-year deal, or if Pax signs and trades him for Chris Mihm or Michael Sweetney. The latter would suck because honestly I want Eddy Curry around for at least one more year in a Bulls uni. I know a lot of fans have mixed feelings towards Eddy, but I watched him last year, and now that I know what he's capable of (scoring at will in the paint) I'm not ready to let a quality big man go for nothing or for a less talented one.

I hope the Bulls and Eddy can come to some sort of agreement where everyone's happy...or at least semi-satisfied.

Wentworth Miller, you've stolen my heart...

2005-09-16T20:21:00.000-05:00

Give it back 'cause I need it to live! But seriously I know this is a little late, but I like this guy and I want to post about him. Even if you've never heard the name 'Wentworth Miller', you've probably seen him before. In the videos for Mariah Carey's singles "It's Like That" and "We Belong Together", on the big screen playing a younger version of Anthony Hopkins in "The Human Stain", or my favorite, a frantic wannabe desperate to make the cheerleading squad on the short-lived, but hilarious show, "Popular".

Wentworth Miller has been around for a while not just on-screen but behind the scenes as a production assistant for a plethora of different movies and shows. Now he's the star of Fox's new drama, "Prison Break", which is getting rave reviews and doing well in the ratings. Wentworth plays Michael Scofield, a strait-laced man who goes to great lengths to break his brother out of jail, including getting himself tossed in prison with him, and devising an elaborate plan to get him and his wrongly convicted brother out. I enjoy watching the show, not because of Wentworth but because it's interesting and well written.

I think what really intrigues me about Wentworth Miller is not how gorgeous he is. There are plenty of good looking guys in Hollywood. And it's not that he's 33 but doesn't look a day over 19 (Him and Pharrell should start the 'I'm in my 30s but still look like I'm in my teens' club). I think what really makes me like Wentworth is that he's intelligent, and not in that 'Hollywood actor intelligent' way, but in the 'I actually took my ass to school' way. The man graduated from Princeton with a degree in English literature, what does that tell you? Just listening to him talk you can tell he's been well educated, and he's so modest. What girl doesn't love a guy who's smart, funny, boring (according to him), and not aware of how sexy he is?

Wentworth Miller has been proclaimed 'Hollywood's next big thing', and I agree. If we're all lucky, he will have a long career ahead of him. He'll still be acting at 60, and finally look like he's in his 30s!

I've had a mini-revelation

2005-09-09T15:13:00.000-05:00

Usually on my blog I don't post about a lot of serious subjects. My blog is about entertainment, mainly music and basketball, but I had to write a little bit about what's been going on in my head since last night. Something else I rarely post about is what's going on in my personal life, this revelation is related to my personal life, and while I'm going to write a few things about how I feel, I'm not going to post the exact revelation I had.

This is such a touchy topic for me especially because I'm an African-American woman, but since I've been up at Northern the subject has been floating through my head. What's wrong is that it never occured to me before; I never had thoughts like this before, but after being up here things have changed. Things up at Northern are different than anything I've ever experienced that's why this is so shocking to me. I know not every person is not like the way people are up here, but NIU has opened my eyes to the way some people act, and I really don't like it.

I really wish I didn't feel this way. The last thing anyone would want is to feel the way I do right now, conflicted and confused. What should I do? I really like being up here, but something's off. I have some things to think about. This is not as dramatic as I'm making it out to be, but it's a big deal for me. I hope I can figure this all out soon. I'm not ready to give up just yet.

I'm sick of all the drama

2005-09-07T12:55:00.000-05:00

I like Eddy Curry, but I'm tired of this soap opera. His heart, the non-existent offer sheets, the QO, the sign-and-trades; I'm sick of it all. If you want to stay, Eddy, then it's all good. If you want to leave, then it's cool too, but stop playing these stupid games. Make up your mind already, you're giving me a headache.

Now that we have you don't f*** us over

2005-09-02T00:04:00.000-05:00

I'm excited and a little relieved that Tyson Chandler has finally agreed with John Paxson and the Bulls on the terms of his multi-year, multi-million dollar contract. Tyson was an important part of the Bulls' team last year and one of the many reasons why they were so successful. I just have one problem though. What if Tyson gets his money and decides to slack off and his phenomenal play from last season doesn't continue?

He played well during his contract year the way most players do. I'm just afraid that he might not be the Tyson Chandler Bulls' fans knew and loved last season with his emphatic blocks and his ability to snatch up rebounds. I hope that doesn't happen; I hope Tyson comes out and plays with all the energy he had before plus some. One down, one to go.

Celebrity white boys vs. Regular white boys

2005-09-01T19:53:00.000-05:00

There are plenty of celebrity white boys that I think are cute. There's Justin Timberlake, Brad Pitt, Hugh Jackman, Orlando Bloom; the list could go on and on. But for some reason when I'm at school or just out and about I don't see many regular, cute white boys. They exist, don't they? I'd like to see just a nice attractive white guy somewhere, but I'm having trouble finding one. At least I was having trouble finding one.

I was sitting in my Biology class waiting for it to start when the finest regular white boy I have ever seen walked in. Honestly, my mouth would've dropped to ground if it could have. I usually hate when people wear long-sleeved shirts with shorts, but this guy manages to pull it off, and the fact that he wears ankle socks with his shorts is a plus. I can't stand when dudes or anybody wear long socks with shorts, it irks me. And his hair was cut short, and he was wearing a little gold chain around his neck. I find that so attractive when a guy can wear a little bit of jewlery. The boy was looking good, and he knew it.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is, there are some cute average Joe white boys out there...just not many. Oh shoot, this was a terrible post.

The dumbest ad campaign since the Spongemonkeys

2005-09-01T19:34:00.000-05:00

It has to be that stupid Wendy's commercial with the 'Ranch Tooth'. It's this big tooth that keeps following around this guy and all it ever says is "Ranch." Not that a tooth should be talking anyway, but you know what I mean. I get what they're trying do; it's like when a person has a 'sweet tooth' and they like eating desserts, but this tooth has eyes, it wears a hat, and it's kind of creepy looking. I like Wendy's but that tooth does not make me want to eat their burgers.