Love and Hate-J

Starbury is gone! Not like he was really with the Knicks this season but at least he’s out of the NY Post and our press conferences. Now It hurts me deep inside to celebrate his exit out of NYC because he was always a favorite of mine growing up ever since he was on the Timberwolves. I even went to Marbury’s basketball camp in the Poconos 2 years in a row. I wish I could show you my autographed picture with him, such a prized childhood possession of mine (Insert your insult here). And let’s not forget the Starbury sneakers I bought for $15, which shows Steph has always been looking out for the white middle class such as myself. There was always something about him that was likable to me, could have been his I don’t give a fuck attitude or his bad ass mustache. But soon after his arrival in New York, his locker room antics and selfish play brought down the team, led to the firing of Larry Brown, and ultimately resulted in Steph losing his mind(Must Watch). The final straw was the obnoxious tattoo on the side of his head, that’s where our bromance officially ended. It’s a shame when relationships like this have to end in such a bad way but it was deservingly so. But I’ll enjoy watching the drama that will ensue when Marbury becomes a Celtic. Many sports writers have made valid points about the positives of bring him in, but just remember, this is Marbury. He does what he wants and no Boston Three Party is going to change that. He may prove us all wrong, but with his ego, I have very serious doubts.

Let’s move on to the standouts in the music industry this week

New Artist K’naan – Brings a new fresh approach to the rap scene right now. He’s a rapper was grew up in Somalia and then moved to Canada (Smart move). But he’s got a voice and flow similar to Q-tip and can sing like Bob Marley. Check him out.
We Come Prepared
T.I.A.

So although I despise American Idol, I was sent this from a friend and this guy has to be the most flamboyant, ridiculous and funny contestant I have ever seen. Enjoy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oj8bCkc2RD0&feature=related

And for all you Guido club bangers out there, here’s a little gem to pump your fist to while your pounding Yager Bombs

Stay tuned for another post in the next few days ranting about the current state of the Jets.

Lost Regarding Lost -TOMP

You've always heard about those horrific accidents that people see on the streets and just can't avert there eyes because they're so locked into the turmoil and fire ball to follow.  Well, I present to you the 2009 Detroit Pistons!  Its gotten to the point where I'm not even angry at them anymore, just disappointed.  The cliche feels plenty appropriate here.  Now, it doesn't even look like they're going to make the playoffs, and to make matters worse they have to face the Magic & Celtics in back to back games this weekend.  Um, 10 game losing streak here we come.  I haven't seen anything this pathetic since Lost last night.

In case you're not a Lost-a-holic and haven't tuned into fine website gems such as the Lostpedia. Let me give you a quick recap of the past few weeks.  Note, you will need the following details for a background story (minor spoiler alert): Six people managed to get off the island (it took 4 seasons, but it happened). One character, John Locke, must make the six return, or everybody left on the island dies (I'm bored again just thinking about it). Anyway, John gets off the island to get the other six to come back, however that works.

Any of the 6 who got off the island: John, what are you doing here?

John: I've come to bring you back to the island.

The 6: Fuck that.

John: Damn.

Random Creepy Guy Everybody Listens To: Bring them back John. You're special.

I just saved you four hours of your life, and a half season of time travel and bullshit I've had to sit through.

Every week we're told, the next episode will "Answer your questions," be "What you've been waiting for" and a "Can't miss."  Thanks Lost. I'd really like some clarification on a few of the following, if you're really serious about this.  Um, how about, what's that smoke cloud that kills people?  That seems like a good question to answer, and gee its only been what, FIVE YEARS that you've been hiding this one.

I'm not even going to get into Hurley still weighing 400 lbs after being on an island for four months. Whatever.  Although, the fact that his dad is Cheech does explain why he's so hungry all of the time.

Man, what else? Oh! I know, how about what the hell is that four toed statue foot about that we saw one time for about six seconds?  Did a camel that wears flip flops found the island?

Come on dude, Sawyer misses Kate. Its been three years (Lost time, about 2 weeks Real Time) since she left, is that spark still there? God, I need to know! NOW!  Have these two even banged yet?  If so, I can't remember because its been three years (Real Time).  So, would you rather know how they managed to move an entire island through time or if Sawyer gets to mack on Kate's cupcake.  Unless there's a YouPorn spin-off here, I'm going with the prior as opposed to the later. You decide.

For a show with a pre-determined end date, I'm tired of being thrown around like a Taiwanese whore on Chinese New Year.  Enough is enough already.  It wouldn't be so bad if they dished a little batch of answers every now and then, but instead they choose to either:

A.) Throw some more people on the island

B.) Add some mysterious new aspect to the island like, oh, fucking time travel

C.) Sprinkle some crack on you while you're passed out with pants down and walk away

While I'm sure this formula has worked remarkably well for Lost addicts such as myself, I hope they realize that over a third of viewers have stopped watching because its just so damn confusing.  Unfortunately, I'm in "sticking it out for the long run" group, because there is only a season and a half left, and I just need closure.  Frankly, I'm surprised they haven't gotten Nic Cage to sign on to the show yet, since it seems like its right up his alley.

"You're fucking out. I'm fucking in."

Boston Rock Radio Song of the Week: Kings of Leon - "Use Somebody"

A Quickie- BG

There are a few reasons for this quickie, number 1 because I wanted to get Rhianna's morgue photo off the front post. God she must have really pissed him off to have gotten a beating like that. Second, I want to do to Nancy Pelosi, what Chris Brown did to Rhianna. I just got done watching our fearless leader address the nation about our floundering economy and Nancy Pelosi looked like she was blowing lines for hours before hand. She probably creamed herself 20 times in an hour and was so jumpy it was actually really embarrassing. She prematurely got up and obnoxiously clapped so many times, that I actually she thought she was going to hop over the bench and "service" Obama right there. Fortunately, Joe Biden was there to stop her or it would have been like Jenna Jameson in Come One, Come All: Part Deux. It was pathetic. She was soo excited, that even with all the botox injections, you saw her face move juuust a bit.



Why did the Celtics pick up Mikki Moore? We don't have enough average low post guys? I do not really know much about the guy, it just didn't seem necessary. If they are looking for a P.J. Brown type impact, I do not think they are going to find it. This move didn't bother me anymore once I saw this. This move makes me want to Rhianna-Size someone. (Too Soon?) Marbury is nothing more than a punk and I do not see a point. The guy has not played basketball in over a year, no guard is playing better than Rondo right now, and I love The House. For me, I would rather stay out of the Marbury drama. Let's just say I will not be first in line to buy my pair of Starbury's. I can look on the bright side though, at least we don't have Allen Iverson. Fewf!



Cuse beat St. John's tonight WOO HOO!! Providence beat Pitt tonight, which means that is going to be harder for Cuse to make the tourney. The B's beat the Panthers tonight 6-1. The Panthers would have been better off using the Bridget Moynahan defense and pulling their goaling. I honestly have not seen goaltending that bad since my days of pond hockey. We had empty nets! Big week of golf starts this week, as Tiger is back on the prowl. Do you think Tiger practiced his chipping and putting during the months he was hobbling around on one leg? Exactly. Glad to have golf back. Or as Lil' Wayne would probably put it "Tiger is the pistol to golf's holster". I leave you with those words of wisdom. Good night everyone and God bless.

Bruised and Battered - J

That’s what Cashman would do to A-Rod if he could. I mean according to him A-Rod’s an asset, not even a human being. Anyway, I'm surprised with the lack of A-Rod discussion on this blog so let me put my two cents in. Regardless of how much you hate the Dominican, you have to feel bad for him. Yes he took steroids and has lost some respect by me as a Yankee fan. But hell, these days even talk show hosts are juicing up. I'll admit that he may not be telling the whole god honest truth, but at least he is doing what’s right and admitting it to the public. Yea Yea, I’m sure that’s what his crisis management team told him to do but at least he avoided the forsaken paths of Clemens and Bonds. As for people criticizing him reading off a paper, give the guy a break. As an ESPN stated, he is an athlete not a politician. He should not be expected to be able to give a flawless public speech without reading off a sheet, especially given the stress and nature of the situation. But enough of this chatter, I’m sure you all are sick of hearing about him as I am.

I’m going swing to politics for a second and discuss this controversial cartoon involving the crazy chimp and our black president. This cartoon is undoubtedly racist. A dead chimp and the police saying “They’ll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill.” No matter what anyone says, the artist was referring to Mr. Obama as the dead chimp. Al Sharpton is already in an uproar and is probably on his way as we speak to burn down the offices of the New York Post. I mean I would expect this from a low key website, but the New York Post? I thought to myself, how the hell did this slip by into the paper? Apparently I didn’t know this guy was the editor of the Post, they clearly need to make some changes within.

Now let’s talk about the breathtaking NBA trades right before the deadline. Marion-O’Neal aside, you know it’s disappointing when the big trade is Salmons, Miller for Nocioni and a few other shmucks. I just feel bad for the Kings, they really are fucked. Every time they get a decent player, they trade them away. I’ll bet my left nut they won’t have a winning season in my lifetime. And Marion for O’Neal really isn’t a big deal to me either. O’Neal really hasn’t been relevant in the league in a long time yet GMs love to take a chance on this guy. Marion’s contract is expiring after this season and players never seem to enjoy playing in Canada, eh? So I’m guessing Marion will quit faster than Oprah on a diet plan. Not to mention Marion’s all about the money and the exchange rate will rob him of his next sports car. The knickerbockers made some moves that might not be groundbreaking, but they sure as hell put a smile on my face. Donnie Walsh managed to get rid of the $30 million dollar Fat Lard, also known as Jerome James around his immediate family. This guy was so pathetic that the one time he got playing time this season, the entire Knick bench got out of their seats and applauded him. Then there’s Malik Rose. The Knick’s team was so desperate last year that he would get significant minutes. Wiseman Isiah would rave about his “wisdom” and “experience” that he brought to the team. Hey Isiah….Go fuck yaself. You know you have problems when Malik is playing PF for you. Out of these trades we got Hughes and Wilcox. We didn’t solve any salary cap issues, but at least we got some players who can contribute right now.

Rematch vs. Nova this Sunday. Let’s pray Cuse plays better this time around. I look forward to a little drinking this weekend so I'll leave you with a quote from the Jersey Native Frank Sinatra. "I feel sorry for people who don't drink. When they wake up in the morning, that's as good as they're going to feel all day."

The Young and the Dumb -BG

To start off I just want to briefly touch on this past weekend and then move on. The reason I don't want to spend a lot of time on it is because I frankly cannot put the pieces together. I cannot recap the game because I do not really know what happened. Cuse almost blew a 16 with 5 minutes left and should have lost, I do know that, but we didn't. College has not changed a bit and I cannot believe we used to do that, not just Friday and Saturday, but everyday. Everyone came back alive. I was going to say "almost" everyone, but I just spoke with Hagan and apparently he is still alive, so that should be everyone. Watch Fear and Loathing if you want to know why I was questioning his survival. Thank you to all the Delts who were such gracious hosts. Glad to see the house is back to normal and looking like shit. The new "tamed" look really was beginning to bother me.



I learned a three things while watching A-Roid bumble through that press conference. (1) A-Roid cannot act. That was the worst acting job since Mark Wahlberg in The Happening. Trust me it was that bad. I mean The Boras Group throws together this politician-esque speech, so easy that a blind kid could read it, he didn't even have to try. All he had to do was execute one simple acting move. After mentioning his teammates, the script read [Here you pretend to cry, make a couple sniffles, and couple streaming tears], and he failed. All he had to do is think about having sex with Madonna (or something equally as sad), that should be enough to make anyone cry. He couldn't do it. (2) A-Roid cannot do math and does not know his real age. He stated that in 2001-2003, he was a young 20-21 years old. He was actually 25-27. Really? You are giving us this phony press conference and you think we cannot do simple math? It doesn't surprise me though because I don't think anyone who is Dominican knows their real age anyway. Ask Miguel Tejada. And finally, (3) If you are a superstar professional athlete who just signed a 10-year $252 million dollar guaranteed contract, you are apparently young and dumb and probably should have not gone to the pros out of high school and gone to college. WHAT???? So you regret all the work that got you to that 10 year $252 million dollar contract? Weird. I'm so sick of hearing from this asshole. Also apparently he is gay and like she-male strippers, no joke.

The Bruins finally got a win a couple days ago against the Carolina Hurricanes f.k.a The Hartford Whalers a.k.a The Whale. Did you know they retired Glen Wesley's jersey? That would be like the Red Sox retiring Mike Greenwell's jersey. He was a solid player, popular with the fans, but to retire his jersey? I guess it is Carolina. Jake Delhomme might still have a shot, even after that atomic crap that he took in the NFC Divisional Playoff game. The thing about the B's is they have a very balanced attack. They can score, they play the best neutral zone defense in league, (with the possible exception of the Devils), they have great Goal tending, but they seem to go into these funks in their own end. Usually they are great in their own end and Chara should win the Norris, but they have these lapses where they are allowing teams to set up 5 on 5 and pepper Tim Thomas for consecutive shifts. This has killed them in some games. With teams like Washington, if you allow them to set up for a second, they will score and it could be the turning point in the game. But they have the most points in the NHL and would have home ice advantage throughout the playoffs if the season ended today. My only critique thus far, is they need KG type intensity all game long.

(Speaking of KG: Please tell me you saw him ruin Craig Sager. No, no, you BURN IT!)

A quick American Idol tangent. I do not like this year so far. I don't like the new format, there is a lack of any standout so far and there has been some of the worst performances I have ever seen. Now it is just the first week, but already my dreams have been crushed. This girl has been eliminated. Her rendition of "Everything Little She Does is Magic" was worse than AIDS. The good news for girls like Casey, is that if the whole swimsuit modeling thing doesn't work out, there is always porn. She wouldn't even need a name. Casey Carlson, I can see her and Evan Stone now. Danny Gokey, should be in the Top 5, that's all I know. Scott Macintyre, the blind kid, has got to wear sunglasses or get a haircut. The blank stare and the jew-fro haircut is giving me nightmares. Call me insensitive, but you watch him sing and tell me that's not just a little freaky. And he good too! and a great kid, so I keep watching him. Shades or a haircut? Who Ya Got?

That about wraps it up. Cuse plays Nova this weekend. C's return from the break tonight against the worst named team in NBA history, The Utah Jazz. And I am heading to NYC. Have a good weekend everyone.

New Haircut. Same Attitude. -TOMP

Don't try and trick me Allen Iverson, I see right through this new image you're rocking. In case you missed it, A.I. got a chance to start for the East this past weekend in the NBA's All-Star Extravaganza.  Now, I don't know if Dome Nation is familiar with what usually goes into making it to the NBA's midseason party, but generally it's a right reserved for players that are making a contribution to their team where everybody plays better as opposed to worse.

The Detroit Pistons are on the verge of a complete collapse. They have been getting sand bagged left & right for poor coaching, a bleak playoff hope for June and most of all, the reoccurring nightmare that is the Iverson for Billups trade.  Not only did A.I. get a chance to represent the demise of Detroit basketball, but also got to START THE GAME.

To give some sort of perspective on this, I'll turn to MTV. This is the equivalent of 'The City' making a move to trade Whitney back to 'The Hills' for L.C., Holly Montag's expiring contract & cash considerations, only to find that L.C.'s 15 minutes have officially expired and that Whitney has become a crafty vet who brings some new sex appeal and fan fair back to The Hills.  This, while The City crashes and burns, ends up a 6 seed in the reality TV playoffs and suffers an embarrassing first round loss to 'Bromance.' Yeah, it's that bad.  At least I don't have to sit around half naked with 4 other guys in a hot tub to watch the 'Stons lose.

You may wonder what grounds do I have for making such a drastic comparison. In Iverson's defense he was always one of the premier scorers in the NBA, and you would think that ability could really benefit a team like the Pistons, who don't really have any players who can slash to the basket.  Well, here are 3 reasons why A.I. should never have even been considered for the All-Star team:

1. He sucks.  He's averaging a career low in points & assists after 12 years in the NBA.  He also averaged more points per game during both of his years at Georgetown.
2. Can you say defensive liability?  There are probably two people who Iverson can guard one on one. Jason Kidd & a lamp post.  I have no idea how the hell he managed to win not one, but TWO Big East DEFENSIVE Player of the Year awards.  (This is on the same level of hearing that Jean-Claude Van Damme won a Golden Globe and an Oscar for his portrayal of Guile in the movie, Street Fighter. In Van Damme's defense, maybe no one told him that Guile is supposed to be an American, not a short tempered wife beater and rapist.)  Iverson has quick hands, which are great for steals, but when you're only 6 feet tall and go for one every four seconds, you're prone to look like Eddie House at any moment.
3. He went to Georgetown. Please, the Hoyas just got smacked around in the Dome. No props there.

I'm just sick of this. Honestly. I may become a Knicks fan.  At least then I can expect constant disappointments.

Random Notes From The Last Few Days:

-Friday the 13th came out on Friday the 13th. Only its not 1980 anymore and no one cares that a kid drowned in a lake. A 29% rating (this could change) on Rotten Tomatoes. Congratulations on making a movie slightly better than Paul Blart: Mall Cop. This series definitely should have concluded after Chapter Eight.

-Let me get this straight. I can watch animal rape on YouTube, but I can't watch human porn or SNL sketches?

-Lindsay Lohan's a bit slutty? Did the sun rise this morning too?

-Chris Brown is upset that he Hit Rhianna around. Well, clearly not as upset as he was whenever he decided to smack her up in the first place.

-Well, looks like Kate Moss is goin' on another coke bender.

-So, it looks like 'Dancing With The Stars' is getting a little desperate. They recently had this man agree to be a part of the show.  Frankly this is astonishing to me as I watched a video of this dude take 5 shots of vodka through an IV.  This really does not feel like ABC material. 

"You're fucking out. I'm fucking in."

No Finish-BG

Many basketball arenas, mostly college, have lame marketing schemes in between timeouts or between halves/quarters. Usually it is a "competition" between two athletically incompetent people falling all over themselves trying to complete a task that is easier than counting to 3. The reason I bring this up is because there is one event where there are different marked spots that one has to shoot from on the court. One directly under the basket, one in the middle of the paint, the free throw, the three point line, and then usually you win a months supply of Subway if you hit the half court shot. Gee, thanks a lot. My question to all of you is, how many shots would it take Arinze Onuaku or Rick Jackson to simply attempt the three point shot? 20? 50? Would the janitor have to come in and say "hey kids, I want to go home and drink myself to sleep, hurry the hell up!!"? I mean Stanley Stumblestein from ISUCK, NY would probably make it to the three point line in 10 shots. Sean McDonough informed us that Arinze was 1 for his last 22 from the charity stripe. I will say that again 1 FOR FUCKING 22. I used to get made fun of playing pickup basketball because I could only make 5 of 10. At least I was 50%. This team just has an un-canny ability not to finish. Whether its under the basket or at the free throw line. I have never seen anything like it.

I am also pleading with TV crews to STOP comparing Paul Harris to Lebron James. I know you are talking about his physique, I know, but he doesn't. Paul must be taking this to heart because on the offensive end he is starting to TRY and play like Lebron. Key word in that sentence would be try (hence all caps). Anyway, he puts the ball on the floor with authority, drives, and then does one of three things:

(A) tries to to dunk then turns the ball over
(B) Just straight turns the ball over or
(C) dishes to Rick or Arinze and they turn it over

Please learn how to finish. I am begging you. I like Paul and when Paul does finish it is a thing of beauty, but it's too few and far between.

You noticed the blog below about Kristof Ongenaet a.k.a The Belgian Waffle. The top three athletes to hail from Belgium are Kim Clijsters, Justine Henin, and Kristof Ongenaet. Who are the other two? Exactly. I got to be honest, I really didn't like him last year and that is because he had to play so much because of the Devendorf/Rautins injuries. And too many waffles can make you sick. Didn't your mom tell you that? No? Moving on. I also didn't like him because I am pretty sure he has been taking Rautins to his hair stylist and European "I am going to cry everytime I hit the deck" School. But he has come off the bench now and he (gulp, I cannot believe I am saying this) provides (oh god) a DEFENSIVE SPARK! For a bench guy to have 8 boards, 3 steals, and 3 blocks is huge. Especially from a waffle. Look, any defense on this team is welcomed and if you could pull anything away from this game, its that we looked better on the defensive end. Another good thing about The Waffle, is if we get into a fight and he has half the fighting skills of this fellow Belgian, we will not lose that fight.

A large group of us are going back to Syracuse for the Cuse-GTown game this weekend. I am sure the stories will be flowing in next week if we make it back alive. I apologize to those of you don't give a fuck about SU Basketball, but there is not much going on in sports right now except college hoops and I am not writing about another team. C's and B's blogs will be coming as the playoffs approach. I will throw in some pop culture blogs from time to time to please the women in the crowd a.k.a Morgan. We are still feeling this out, be patient and look for new shit next week. Stay Classy.

P.S. Arinze or Rick, if you read this, check this out. I will give you a pass for not making free throws if you can do this for me. Thanks.

The Dome Factor Is Officially A Fan Of Kristof Ongenaet

TDF would like to officially announce the sleeper of the year in D1 NCAA Basketball. That's right, it's Kristof Ongenaet, AKA, The Belgian Waffle. Maybe you missed the presence of the swift hustle player, but we guarantee the opposition has game planned for his tenacious demeanor. We're talking about a guy who decided to block Hasheem Thabeet. In case you didn't know, Thabeet is the equivalent of a 7 foot, 3 inch dildo. Yeah, he's massive & has no balls, but that didn't stop Ongenaet from saying, "Lights out motha' fucka'." after he stuffed his ass in the 'Cuse UConn match-up. It was impressive. Trust us.

Watch out Big (B)East, you've got a 6th man right on your heels ready to domiante.

Just Who Is Karl Malone? -M.Tomp

Karl Malone. What do you think of when you hear that name?  A two time MVP winner? That's certainly not what comes to my mind.  The second all-time scoring leader in NBA history?  Hard to believe, but I doubt anyone really thinks of that when thinking about the Mailman.

 (Speaking of, "The Mailman"; does any nickname make less sense than that? I mean Stockton was the guy delivering the ball to this guy for 15 years, you think he'd of gotten some better recognition then being Short Shorts Stockton.) Ok, what about Karl Malone, loving father & NBA champion? Well, considering he never won the Larry O'Brien trophy and the fact that he didn't acknowledge that Cheryl Ford was his daughter until she was famous, I'd have to go with a subtle 'no' on both counts here.

As it turns out, Karl Malone is an insult to the NBA.  Not because he wasn't an all around good teammate or someone who didn't play his ass off on both sides of the floor. No, sir. I think you'll gain my perspective on Karl from a little collection of highlights put together. Now, at first glance, this may all seem pretty standard for a Utah fan's idea of how sweet Karl Malone was. But the truth is Karl did a stellar job of hiding the most obvious flaw in his game. The man could barely slam dunk the rock.

I mean what the hell is up with that?  Even when he does dunk, its some flimsy one hander that I'm pretty sure I saw a couple years ago on an elite college basketball team.  Seriously, this is a 6'9 power forward who won TWO MOST VALUABLE PLAYER AWARDS! You're telling me he couldn't dunk a basketball?  Even a guy over a foot shorter than Karl could do this nonsense.

I'm boycotting Karl Malone for this travesty. Forget about a bid to the hall of fame Karl; it's over.

Searching for Philly Cheese Steak- BG

From a sports perspective this weekend did not go so well for me. It started on Thursday with an embarrassing Celtics loss and continued on Saturday with a Syracuse loss to Villanova. A loss in which they gave up a 102 points and the phrase "defense" had no meaning once again. More on that in a bit. The B's losing to the Flyers at home in OT, capped off a pretty miserable day sports wise for me and I was in enemy territory the whole time. That's right I was in Philadelphia, home of the famous "Philly Cheese Steak". I set out with a goal of indulging in a nice Philly Cheese Steak because they are supposedly the best. You come to New England you try the chowder, you go to Buffalo you try the wings and when you go to Philly you have to try the cheese steak. The following is a first hand account of my weekend filled with partying, sporting events, and of course the quest for the Philly Cheese Steak.

Friday morning began like any other morning. I got up, got in the shower, but today I didn't go to work, I went to the bus terminal. I had 6 hours of total bus time ahead of me. I was first traveling to NY to meet my girlfriend, Morgan, and then the two of us were headed to Philly to meet her sister. The first 4 hours to NYC were not bad. I had rented two movies on iTunes to watch on my ipod, the only problem was that I could not get that awful image out of my head of, Sasha Vuja-Bitch and the llama a.k.a Pau Gasol celebrating on the parquet floor. There is no way even a Lakers fan can like Vuja-bitch, right? Vuja-Bitch thinks he's important, so apparently now he won't wear green anymore. Words cannot describe how much I hate this guy so I am just going to stop. As far as that game went it is pretty simple. They got outplayed. They were lucky to even go into OT because the Lakers were awful from the line. Anytime you have Big Baby Davis taking critical 18 foot jump shots you need to draw up a new game plan. Everyone around the team and in the Boston print media keeps talking about Big Baby's "growing confidence" with his jumper. Who is giving him confidence? Where is he getting this magical confidence? You know in middle school when you were at a school dance and you were dancing with a chick? Suddenly, you get a boner and the only thing you can do is stick out your ass a little bit, because you do not want brush it up against her? Well that is what Glen Big Baby Davis' jump shot looks like. The Boner Jump Shot. Its embarrassing, but maybe that is his "Growing" confidence (pun intended).


Anyhow, back to the bus ride. My feel good movie of the year so far is Eagle Eye starring Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan. Its a little far fetched, but the leading movie at the Oscars this year is about a guy who ages backwards, so who cares if its far fetched. Its got good action scenes, a good plot, and the ending makes you feel like you have accomplished something by watching the movie. The only reason I bring this up is to answer one question. Michelle Monaghan is hot, right? I am sure everyone has seen The Office where they debate the merits of Hillary Swank. I think it might be time to start debating Michelle Monaghan. I cannot tell. In movies like Mission Impossible III she is hot, but in Gone Baby Gone and Eagle Eye she is so-so. Remember it is not whether you would do her, its is she hot? The other movie I watched was the movie College, which was beyond awful. It was way more far fetched than Eagle Eye, mainly because this smokeshow wanted to jump this fat kid's bones the entire movie. If these two were the last humans on earth in real life, she would hump trees or horses instead of this kid. Inexplicable.


We finally arrived in the Land O' Chez Steak at 6pm Friday evening. Morgan's sister Ali picked us up and we headed out to Villanova for a night of partying at Villanova.


(Side Note: The worst designed road in the history of mankind is I-76 going out of Philly. Upon driving on it for a couple days I immediately called for the road designer's arrest and subsequent execution. I was quickly informed that due to the large number of problems/complaints with the road, that the man actually killed himself some time ago. So I got my wish, sort of. I will now make my reservations in hell.)


We showed up at the home of four beautiful young college coeds. If I say anything else I will get castrated, so I'm moving on. I was informed that we were going to this BYOB sushi place at 8pm. Naturally, the down side with going out with 5 girls and only 1 other guy is that we did not get to the restaurant until closer to 9pm and the line was out the door to get in. Scratch that idea. Instead we went to this Mediterranean BYOB place across the street. I new the moment that we walked in something was going to be off, because while everyone was about 25 years older than us and had one bottle of wine for their tables, we walked in with a 30 of Natty Light and a massive jug of white Carlo Rossi. Saying that we got only a couple looks would be a very large understatement. Throw in the fact that the Kabob/Rice combo meal tasted like large slim jims covered in sulfur, you could say dinner sucked.


To wash the taste out of my mouth, I drank my fair share of Natty Light at dinner. I am not going to try and be like that homo Tucker Max and say I drank a handle of Jack and a 30 rack while getting blown at dinner, but I was feeling good. We showed up a pregame party and this apartment made my old fraternity house look like the Sistine Chapel. It was that bad. The kids were actually really cool and I met this one kid who I swear was my friend Gumby 2.0. This kid was about 6 feet tall 140 pounds soaking wet. He was hammered and was physically a wreck. His hand was clearly broken in multiple places, he had a gash across his nose, and a fierce black eye. I asked him what the hell happened and he proceeds to tell me that 3 days ago him and his friend set up a ring and bare knuckle boxed each other for no reason other than so people could place bets. He could only hold a beer with two fingers because the others were not functional. When I told him that he should probably get that checked out he simply replied, "I'll be fine. You only live once." I didn't and still do not know what he meant by that, but god bless him. We went out to a few bars and the night ended with me sleep walking all over the house holding a full body mirror that I had lifted off the wall and was threatening to smash it on the ground. All in all it was a good night. Villanova catches a bad rap sometimes and they call it Villa-No-Fun. People also compare it to BC, probably because they are both Jesuit schools. From my one experience there I completely disagree, I had a blast.


*CHEESE STEAK UPDATE* At this point in my trip I have still not had, smelt, or even seen a cheesesteak. I haven't really given Philly a chance yet, but I better get one tomorrow. If Philly keeps it up, its going right up there with Newark, NJ as the worst places that I have ever been.


Saturday we woke up early because we had to be at the Wachovia Center (25 min away) by Noon in time for tip off. This was suppose to be a good game to watch. When I saw that Nova was favored by 8 points, I almost sulfur slim jim'ed my pants and placed a bet Cuse +8. Again this game was an easy game to pick apart. Everyone say it with me: The Syracuse Orange cannot play defense! Villanova took what was given to them a.k.a 102 points. Jim Boeheim is also partially to blame. Villanova is a jump shooting team and they do not have much of an inside game. The way you beat the patented Jimmy B zone is by shooting over it from behind the arc and by getting the ball to the free throw line and hit open jumpers. Well I wonder if it was after Dante Cunningham's 11th or 12th made 18 footer that Jimmy B probably started to regret his choice of zone. On the flip side, Syracuse only has 2 1/4 defenders. Johnny Flynn and Paul Harris attempt to play defense and Arinze Onauku, when healthy, is half a defender. He wasn't healthy, so he becomes a quarter of a real defender. Hence the 2 1/4 total team defenders. When your other decent defender is Kristof Ongenaet a.k.a The Belgium Waffle, you suck defensively and probably shouldn't be playing man either. You might as well put scare crows out there for Rautins, Devendorf, and Jackson. You are screwed either way. This team can score with the best of them, 82 points should get you a win, but until they learn to play D, I see them struggling to make the tourney.
(Side Note on Rautins: Andy's first four shots went like this: airball, airball, side rim, and backboard no rim. He cannot play defense, he doesn't dribble drive, and he apparently thinks that he is European with the stupid fo-hawk thing going on. Clean it up dude. Your only use is your three point shooting, so maybe daddy Leo needs break out the burlap sack from your childhood and start beating you with reeds until you hit 100 three pointers in row like he did when you were little)

*CHEESESTEAK UPDATE* I don't know if I forgot to mention this, but I was pretty wasted the entire game and afterwards we went to the Philly McFadden's, which is attached to the Phillies Stadium. The McFadden's in Philly blows the Boston one out of the planet, not just the water, the planet. Anyway, to get a table was an hour and half. I asked if I could just get a cheesesteak and they said "Sorry sir, you must be seated at a table." To this I promptly replied, "I hate you" and walked away. Still no Cheesesteak.

We go back to the hotel, great place by the way, the Club Quarters. They have one is almost every major city and if you say you are with Deutsche Bank or Morgan Stanley or something like that they cut your rate almost in half. It was great. I have had a great time with my girlfriend's family and there friends, but so far its been pretty miserable sporting wise. The one bright spot was finding out A-Rod is in fact A-Roid. This really isn't a shock to me and it should not be to anyone else. I just hate A-Rod as much as anyone in baseball and this just validates my point even more. The real question should be whether his girlfriend, Madonna, was taking them too.

(Speaking of the Yankees, frauds, and pansies, if you haven't read this story about Roger Clemens' pre game ritual, this is a must read. Joe Torre and Tom Verducci are doing possibly the best job of marketing I have ever seen. I guess if you just completely sell your dignity and trust, than you can indeed prosper.)

*THE CHEESESTEAK FINALE* We go back out to Nova for dinner, but even when we got back to Philly at 11 I said to Morgan, I am getting a cheesesteak. We get off the train in the middle of Philly. The middle of Philly, walk 5 blocks to our hotel and did not see one pizza place, restaurant or bar. The place was quieter than a funeral. All I saw were homeless people strewn all over the place. It was so dead, they were not even begging for change. I wake up the next morning and get to the airport. Its 9:45am and I see a big food court in the terminal. Finally, I am going to get to try a Philly cheesesteak. Nope. They have a Sbarro, an Asian Walk, a wine bar, and a Jimmie's hot dogs. I was pissed. I finally got a shitty cheesesteak already packaged from one of the airport convenience stores out of pure principle. It tasted like rubber and it went through me in less than 15 minutes. I was defeated. I left Philly with cheesesteak blue balls, unsatisfied and emotionally hurt. Anyhow, the sports complex and Villanova were fun, but the city itself sucks. No wonder everyone there is miserable. I am getting tired and this blog has gone on way too long. And by the way I am still searching for Philly Cheesesteak.

Garden Shenanigans - J

So after attending the Lebron Garden Performance, I can honestly say that it was the most entertaining live basketball game I have ever watched. The game was so overhyped because of Kobe’s unconscious performance just two nights before. No matter what Lebron said before the game, this dude had aspirations in his mind to outdo his competitor. I’d say over 25% of the fans in the arena were there to cheer on the King. All throughout the national anthem, there were groups of drunken bafoons shouting out his name. I even saw a few Lebron knick jerseys which I wanted to tear off and then proceed hit the fugazy in the face for insulting the human race. Anyway, the King’s mission became very apparent in the first quarter when Lebron was given more isolation plays than his previous 3 games combined (source of this stat unknown). By the end of the first he had 20, and everyone in the crowd was talking about breaking the record. Then after a few poor shots, James starting sharing the ball with the Wally Szherbiak and the rest of the jamoakes on the Cavs, resulting in only having 26 at the half.

On a more important note, the Italian Rookie Gallinari has become a crowd favorite of late. He is one goofy looking kid and puts up less than 10 points a game, but there is some bond that fans have to white players. Its like it’s a miracle that they can compete in the NBA and they are some sort of child prodigy. I found myself screaming “the rooster!” at the top of my lungs everytime he scored. It’s the same way I felt when I was growing up following Jason Williams’ AKA “white chocolates” career.

There were a number of celebs in the crowd as you can imagine whom they showed on the big screen. You had Ciara, Mel B from the spice girls, Joe, Whoopi, the entire rangers team, and Chris Rock. Now before they introduced Chris Rock, they had a little segment on the big screen where the Knicks players voted who was funnier, Chris Rock or Chris Tucker? Are you fucking kidding me? Chris Tucker better pray they make a rush hour 4 or he’ll never see another penny from Hollywood again unless he decides to start doing h-bombs and lands a gig on celebrity rehab. The sad thing was the vote was actually close. Lets just say I was extremely disappointed with my favorite teams’ comedic tastes. Then Adam Yauch from the Beastie Boys is displayed and lets just say he’s not looking like a rap star these days. I love the Beastie Boys to death, but their “Time to get Ill” has clearly expired. I’m sorry but rappers with all grey hair just don’t do it for me. I’d feel like a man desperately trying to relive his past by going to one of their shows now.

Anyway, that’s slightly off topic so let me get back to the game. In the second half, Lebron scored the most casual 26 points. His shots were dispersed and he never seemed to dominate at any point of the game. He was more focused on getting his team involved and only took shots when necessary. It seemed as if he wouldn’t come close to Kobe’s record but when I looked up at the scoreboard, he was about the break fifty. I will tell you that if Lebron was actually looking for the shot like he did in the first quarter, he would have easily surpassed Kobe’s record. But he pulled off a triple double while scoring 52 points, which is much more impressive anyway. After the game as usual, he says that this is favorite place to play, so one can only hope he’ll leave the forsaken sports city of Cleveland and come to New York. Until then I got the Italian and Nate the Great to cheer for. Enjoy the weekend and make sure to watch the Syracuse vs. Villanova game on Saturday.

Time to Pull a Peter Frampton and Come Alive! -M.Tomp

Ladies & Gentlemen the road to the NBA finals evidently goes through TD BankNorth Garden tonight as the Lakers meet in an epic skirmish vs. the Celtics of Boston. Now, by all counts I see this game as a dead even match up. You've got Kobe vs. Paul Pierce and 4 other guys on each team that can only play one side of the ball. One team is littered with brilliantly skilled European players headlined by Pau Gasol and this jamoke. The other is filled with underperforming, undersized, overutilized little big men headlined by Big "I really do love to cry" Baby. I love the league. So, for some reason the Cs are favored by 6.5 points, which is a real whopper for a casual regular season friendly match up. Frankly, I think its absurd, almost as absurd as this recent promotion. Sure, this could be a blowout for Boston, but highly doubt it. But with that said, I suppose anything is possible.

Now, I may not be from Boston, but I've quickly picked up on how passionate the fans can be around the New England area. I think the biggest realization is that this frenzy of support isn't really built around supporting the local team, but bashing the living shit out of whomever they are playing. Its really quite interesting and hope to outline this thought a variety of posts dealing with the turmoil that is the Boston sports scene.

Welcome to the world of one, Matthew Torres; more commonly referred to (by myself & others) as Marty McFly or The One Man Party. Based on that image alone, you can tell that I have quite the fan base and can ball out of control. I swear. My background is scattered seeing as how I'm not really from anywhere, but I do like to consider myself a Michigander, but that's just a start. I have ties to Texas, South Carolina, Central New York, Pittsburgh and some other random places. Being part of a mixed ethnicity (a little white, mostly Cuban) I think it justifies my support of various organizations in various parts of the country. First and foremost, I root for America's Team, the Dallas Cowboys. I was living in the grand state of Texas when they won their three amazing super bowls in the 90s and I have been hooked ever since. Both of my parents attended The U and I have paid attention to every game they have played except the 2003 Fiesta Bowl, which was fabricated to give the Big Ten(11) some sort of sense of pride in the 21st century.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a big Michigan fan, just not when this is happening. As for the league, I have always and will always support the 'Stons. Part of Detroit Basketball, which is the shit. Especially this man, who will absolutely dominate you and your favorite NBA player. Yes, I realize they're going through some turmoil right now, when it turns out the guy you pay $20 million a year for, blows more ass, then, well some other people that do that. Oh, did I mention the guy whose started there the last 6 years makes half the money and only averages 1 point less coming off the bench? GO FIGURE! So, I'm a little bitter on that front, but hey, when the playoffs come around, everything can change baby.

We'll see where things go from here, I'm not expecting too much out of this Lakers, Celtics game thats about to start. If I had to make one prediction, it would be Pau Gasol going for a near triple double effort while Kobe scores around 47 points, and Eddie House will probably drop 25 just to spite me. Lets see how it pans out. We'll call it the TOMP special of the night.

Why I Oughtta! - Senator

G'day mate, Ah we in England? Just kidding, blogging from the misery that is a low income town in a crumby production building in Northern Jersey, the Embroidery Capital of the World. As you can already tell, this is a dude's blog for a real dude's dude, chya know? What I can bring to the table is a taste of culture, cuisine, and possibly even a story from my troubled childhood that could make even Dirty Harry crack a smile. Born and raised in the mean streets of a coastal town about 20 minutes north of "The Hub" my sporting affinity goes to the red and blue of Red Sox and Patriots as well as the Celts and Bruins. I won't get too much into the MLS right now but go Revs while I have your attention. Oftentimes I find my love of sports being questioned, but fear not sports fans, I love the stuff. Can't get enough of it. Why do you think I wear under armor under my shirt and tie to work or midrange athletic socks with my loafers? Okay Einstein, I will tell you, it's so I can get my swell on right after because I'm always wondering what I can do to make myself the ultimate threat on any sporting platform. Therefore, I am constantly pouring muscle milk in my Special K and working on my agility by torturing myself with plyometrics (spelling? - F it). But anywho, I am sure I could bore you with trivial facts from the 2004 World Series or 2003 NCAA Basketball Championship, but what good would that do? Instead, like have already said and will continue to say, I want to broaden everyone's horizons as to mold this audience into a more well-rounded lover of sports and the high life. My blogsperience dates back to Spring 2008 when I started my own sports blog. However, after realizing that I had a much larger responsibility to myself and my peers, I felt the need to stretch the boundaries of said blog to encapsulate all that I love and know in this world - pretty much everything. That's why I am sometimes referred to as the All-Knowing-Ass (that never happened). However, I did find $5 on the ground. So, I said I could give a funny story so I will and I hope you enjoy it. If you do not enjoy it, so be it and good riddance. If you do enjoy it then you can answer the question of, "Who Shotchya," with --> The Senator Did and It Really Hurt.

My Life As A Character On the Office

If you don't know what the Office is, go F yaself. Everyone else, gather round while Uncle Greg tells you a story of triumph, adversity, and success. I recently started a sales gig at a non-profit agency in a Northern New Jersey ghetto and try to get towns to contract janitorial, security, and recycling work with us. However, this is no easy task and there are a lot of political issues that need to be considered. Bad thing for me, I don't read, I hate politics, and couldn't care less about the greater good because C.R.E.A.M. Yet, it's not the coffee or 5-hour energy shots that get me up everyday and excited for work, nor is it the 1000 crunches I do to boost my metabolism. The driving factor besides my bruised Corolla that brings me to "The Center" is the amazing people with whom I am fortunate to interact.

1. Baby Ruth - dark chocolate exterior and short in stature (just shy of my waistline). I used to share an office with her before I feared getting my knee-caps bitten off. She is ridiculous, has corn-rows, tig ole bitties, and wears "normal people" coats as a long trench coat for her vertically challenged self. One day a job coach was walking by and asked, "where's Ruthy?" To my dismay, I silently nodded my head to my left and tried to do everything humanly possible to not laugh..."Oh, I didn't see you there!" Seriously Joe? A little un-PC, but what a moment it was for everyone. Because I was still being orientated to the organization, it hit me harder than it did my supervisors. INCIDENT 2 - Baby Ruth was out sick and payroll needed to get finished. Her nimble hands are no match for automated payroll and we really needed her so a contract manager said he would pick her up. I overheard the last bit of the conversation because I did not want to seem rude and get caught eavesdropping. It went like this, "Aight, just hold up a flag so I know it's you!" Please, a little discretion next time so I don't have an ulcer from laughing so hard, Thanks.

2. The IT guy - this is me. I am a 22 year old recent college graduate. The closest person to me in age in my business sector is 55. Needless to say, I find myself trying to fit in a little too hard and say such catch phrases as, "It'll be a gas" or "You're just a chip off the old block." Anywho, one day the Vice President asked of me to make a table on Word for him. Let's be serious, it was lunch time and my stomach was grumbling so I had to go but I said I would have it done for him later that day. Within an hour I had made a pretty sweet organizational chart and corresponding table of values. He loved it, let's be serious. I thought that would be the end of my techonological responsiblities at "the center" for a while. However, he boasted and bragged about my attention to detail, the italics, the bold, the cell widths...before 3pm I had been dubbed the IT guy for my great skills with MS Office. Okay, I have a nickname, it's not "Ace" or "Puke" but I'll take it and maybe with his old age, he'll forget. Well, at a county presentation later that night, the mayor's powerpoint went to shit and there was a lot of dead air. Well, the VP sitting next to me made it a point to nudge me with his elbow, point his finger above my head to signal to everyone, "We should've had the IT guy take care of this." Embarrassed, No. Delighted, meh. But seriously, it's fucking MS Word, get used to it.

3. The Other Small Person - I'm not sure his name or where he comes from, BUT, there is another midget where I work. Everyday at 8:30 AM (I show up right on time just so I can get a glimpse of this) this blind man who stands not taller than a yardstick hops each of the 38 steps to the office area upstairs. There is an elevator but he is just so independent and needs a good quad workout that he hops the steps one-by-one and then moves onto his below-minimum-wage-paying job as a production worker. The kicker though comes at 3 PM everyday when he repells down the aforementioned 38 steps. One by one, there is a thud...thud...thud...Well, you get the picture. The first day I heard the pounding of human flesh (that sounded dirty) down the stairs I had to casually see what was happening. Sure enough, the same little guy was bouncing down each individual step on his rear-end and boy was I impressed.

Well, that is just a small taste of a regular Tuesday afternoon for this guy. There will be more to come every now and again to share a story or my take on life as I see it. Thanks for listening.

The Jump Off - J

New Jersey. One of the most praised states for raising and bringing you the finest athletes in the country. Don’t believe me? Who else could bring you Derek Jeter, Carl Lewis, Shaq, and Mike Bibby? Since Syracuse will undoubtedly be an ongoing topic, I will also mention that Orange greats such as Terrence Roberts and Daryl Watkins hail from Paterson and Jersey City; which on a side note are both cities that I would not venture into the street past 9pm, so to speak. They may not have led us to a championship or put up great career numbers, but if you add up both of their free throw percentages you come awfully close to having an outstanding % from the line. I’m sure you all have figured out by now that I come from New Jersey (no I am not one of those kids that thinks he’s from New York because he lives close by). I graduated from Pace University but went to Syracuse for a few years with the rest of these clowns. I am now making a living crunching numbers as an accountant, so directing my efforts to this blog a few times a week helps me keep my sanity.

My loyalty goes to the Knicks, Jets, and Yankees. Now the outlook for all of my teams for the next few years is looking very positive. The Knicks are 2 wins away from tying their win total from last year and have freed up cap space for the summer of Lebron and friends. The Jets have spent a lot of money improving their defense, hopefully banishing Favre from the team, and have secured Rex Ryan as their next coach. The Yankees have taken care of their pitching needs and should have one of the best offensive lineups in baseball. Forgive me for such a broad description of these teams, but I’m sure I’ll be touching on these subjects in more detail in my later posts. But overall I’m a happy man and am excited for the future.

The other two contributors to this blog are from Boston although Matt has no ties to any Boston team whatsoever. I will assure you that this rivalry will be heavily discussed and friends will be lost. Although Boston has found success in the new millennium, their luck seems to be dwindling. The Patriots lose to the Giants in the Super Bowl followed by the Tom Brady Injury. One can only hope this streak continues. On that note my prayers seem to be answered when I hear the rumors that Brady may not be ready for the 09’ season. The Red Sox have been on top but will face tough opposition with a revived Yankees and young and talented Rays team coming into next season. And I have a gut feeling that Manny leaving has cursed the team similar to the legend of the infamous Bambino.

That brings me next to the Celtics. I have the uttermost respect for this team but obviously as a Knicks fan I would love to see their demise. My wishes almost came true when the rumors started flying around that the great Starbury was going to join the Celtics. I was ecstatic because I knew this would destroy a team’s chemistry 10 times worse than Terrell Owens ever could. However, this signing looks unlikely because the Knicks are unwilling to buy him out without Steph taking a pay cut. And we all know his huge ego and pride will never let him settle for anything less than what he’s owed. Bynum being out for 8-12 weeks doesn’t exactly help my cause either. However, all is not lost with both the Cavs and Magic (depending on Jameer Nelson’s status) looking like they have a good shot this year at taking down the mighty Celtics. And lets not discard the chance that the Knicks clinch the 8th seed and eventually beat them in a seven game series (“anythings possible” as KG would say). I’m hoping Gallinari AKA “the rooster” develops into a star by season’s end and brings them back to glory. This Italian can play, mark my words.

But that’s enough for now. There will be much more to talk about in due time. I am not big on politics, but I will put my two cents in from time to time. Look for an update tomorrow because I’m headed to the world’s most famous arena tonight to watch King James put on a show. He probably won’t top Kobe’s 61 the other night, but he may damn well come close. Thanks for reading, there’s plenty more dome to come.

Who'd a thunk it? - BG

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The Pistons & The Orange. Who Can Dissapoint More? -M. Tomp

Its been a rough time lately for this sports fan. My teams just aren't pulling their weight the way that they should be. As football season ends, I look at the performance on my two favorite teams during the season from the NFL & NCAA. The Dallas Cowboys, well everybody knows about the Dallas Cowboys. The U? Despite highly rated recruiting, decent defensive play and a coach that I like but doesn't seem like he wants to stick around for a while, are playing like a traditional program of mediocrity, like Syracuse football or something.

While the times were bad, they were nowhere near what this guy had to go through. But I was looking forward to some decent basketball play from two contenders at two different levels with the Syracuse Orange and Detroit Pistons. Both looked like hot tickets coming, but each has been making my head feel like rupturing the entire basketball season.

I guess I'll begin with the Orange(men). This group has done a phenomenal job of performing well below expectations every year since 2003, when they won the championship, and you know, had some balls. Needless to say, this has been most aggravating, but it really didn't become truly evident until this year. Talk about a team on the rise. They were playing some decent bball, avoided any major injuries and were beating some decent contenders (Kansas, Florida & Memphis). It was hot, I was thinking, wow, maybe we can make the tourney for the first time in 3 years. As much fun as second tier championships are, they really just lack the flavor of winning the big won.

Now, of course, I see we're headed right back to the slums of the NIT. It became pretty evident when they lost to these jamokes and things have just now started to spiral incredibly out of control. Right off the bat, they've lost 4 of their last 5 in the Big (B)East, and while its to exceptional teams, its simply unacceptable. My first question is why does a guy who plays for the Canadian National Team start, when all he can do is pop tres and not defend people. Did I mention he plays for team Canada? Yet, he's from central New York? Can anyone explain that one to me? Because, I'm at a loss for words.

Second, how is it that the McDonalds All-American, pride of the Tri-City area and second leading scorer come off the bench to back this guy up? Is it because of his alleged assault Or is it something personal Jim Boeheim? Or is it some sort of built up rage that you have? Either way, I don't understand it. E.D. may have slapped that girl, but he's no Nick Van Excel (Mavs era) or Manu Ginobli. We need this man on the court, asap. His left hand is sweeter than this man.

I don't know how the Orange are going to hold it together for the February/March stretch. I mean the schedule gets a little easier, but not that much. St. Johns is a cupcake, but as I've learned over the years, always watch out for those tasty delights. They still have to play 'Nova twice (who just beat the Pitt who is so hot right now) and they must tangle with UConn down the road. That's not to mention the bloody valentine they're sure to deliver to Georgetown on February 14th at the Carrier Dome, while I'll view it from this fine establishment.

Johnny Flynn can not carry the entire team on his back. Although, he is the man. Onuaku has proved he every bit of the beast I thought he would be, but what is with 'Cuse recruiting big men (a'la Rick Jackson, Terrence Roberts & Darryl Watkins) who couldn't hit a free throw if their very lives depended on it. Ugh, I guess this is why March is filled with such madness.

After all of that venting, I don't know how I'm going to get re-frustrated regarding the Detroit Pistons. Oh, I know, I'll just look at this lovely image. Ok, I know the Answer is a phenomenal OFFENSIVE player, and I will never deny that. But I can't stop thinking about how the 'stons traded their second best player (SHEEEEEEEEEED) away, for another guy, who can only really play 1 side of the ball and has never really been known for being, you know, a 'team' player.

On the rare chance I do actually get to see the Pistons, I feel like I don't even know what I'm looking at. Sheed looks like a loafer. Rips all moopy facey because he has to come of the bench for the guy who only averages 1 point more then him. Tayshaun is unhappy with is role in the offense most of the time. McDyess came back for this? Rodney Stuckey lost a great role model for his position even though he's an amazing scorer (just not there defensively). And my favorite basketball player is having the worst season of his career since he first came into the league.

I'm sorry if I'm not content with a five seed in the playoffs, but this is a team that has made going to the conference finals their job. I don't care if they haven't been to the finals since 2005. They should have won that 7 game series, despite its incredibly low ratings, featured some amazing basketball from two of the most consistent franchises in recent NBA history. Its a damn shame everything's falling apart for Detroit in order to dump A.I. & Sheed's expiring contracts at the end of the year to get ready for the epic summer season of 2010. I guess I thought the Pistons were like the Steelers, who always seem like they did the best they could to have a team ready to win NOW.

What a discouraging sports season. Its sad when you have to rely on the Iowa Hawkeyes to hit more 3 balls then the MSU Spartans to get a kick out of basketball week.