Hmm

It's amazing how many writers in the blogosphere can't spell. I know I've made mistakes before but I tend to just leave the whole word out as opposed to butcher it. I'm not really ranting, more of a pet peeve type of thing...ranting is more of a pet pissed off kind of thing.

Marriage Revelations

I'm not getting cold feet or anything...but I am having these revelations...

Revelation #1: I've been a bachelor for 30 years! 30 Years. What a way to end a streak.....
Revelation #2: After Saturday, beer commercials will no longer talk to me. Lite beer commercials will talk to me......eeeewwww!
Revelation #3: Calling the Fiancee the ol' battleaxe is no longer just a joke.....
Revelation #4: Since we've been living in sin in our own house for years now, I guess kids really are the next step.....somebody calling me daddy??
Revelation #5: I've gotta start wanting to go to the Home Depot.....

Messing up a saying

So speaking to a coworker (one that reads this site on occasion), she was requesting I do her a favor. I said I would to which she replied 'I'm forever in your death'.....I knew what she was trying to say but I like to give her a hard time so now I'm wondering if I should do the favor since apparently it will result in my death....

Saturday's Win

One down, one to go. Words can't express how excited, then nervous, then worried, then hopeful, then excited, then downright giddy I was Saturday afternoon as the Hokies beat the UVA Cavaliers 24 - 10 after a scoreless first half.

Bryan Randall had another good game. Doing what he has for most of his career at Va Tech. Running the ball when he has to (and usually for a first down or more), safe passes. It's like he's not trying to make the highlight, he's just trying to lead the team. Our running game was a little less than impressive but it was nice knowing that the passing game was available when the running broke down. Slow start but fantastic finish.

Next up: Miami. The game that will define our freshman year in the ACC. Ironic that the two new members to the conference will be determining this year's conference champion. . . . .

Interesting facts about this series:

• Before last year's 31 - 7 VaTech victory, Miami had triumphed over the Hokies for three straight years


• Before Miami's three year reign over the Hokies, the Hokies dominated the Hurricanes for five straight years

The Final Chapter

The final chapter of bachelorness has begun. I am to be married on Saturday, five days. Of course, it has become a little more real than it has been previously in that we've been engaged for so long that the actual date was always off in the future some time.

I can't say I'm nervous about getting married per se. I'm more nervous because though I had no particular desire to have a wedding, I know how much it means to the ol' battleaxe so I want everything to go as she wishes. She wants the perfect wedding so much and she's put so much time and stress and . . . oh yeah and money into it that I would pain if it doesn't go as she has planned.

Ah well. At this point we can only go over the final details....again and hope we don't miss anything. Although this time next week, I should be arriving near that tropical paradise called Jamaica....heeeheee giddy like a school girl about that......

Depressing

I'll admit. I thought our offensive impotence would wane once Brunell was taken out of the game. And in some aspects, it has. But still....

We have not scored 20 points in a game yet. Cincinnati scored 58 yesterday alone in beating Cleveland 58 - 48. That's 106 points in a single game. The Redskins have only scored 138 points all season long!

First, the running game in the first half looked awful. In fact the only thing that looked worse than the running game was the special teams play. Keep in mind that Pittsburgh only had 59 yards of total offense late in the second quarter though they had a 10 - 0 lead. Why? Because their drives kept starting inside the Redskins 35 - 40 yard line.

Second, how many passes can two wide receivers drop? If they would stop worrying about trying get a pass interference call from the ref and just catch the damn ball, things could have gotten a little more interesting yesterday.

Third, playcalling is a science. And within that science is the use of the element of surprise. But does anyone care to explain what exactly a 5 yard pass on 4th and 15 down 9 points gets you? They intentionally threw a pass that had less than a 2% (my own stat that I just made up) chance of succeeding. I hate to say it but I'm starting to have second thoughts concerning this coaching staff.

Shaquille = Classless

Reading this article has spurnedinspired (see comments - I used the wrong word...and I'm not quite sure why) me to write what I think of Shaquille O'Neal.

The man is classless. He may flash his money making smile, and stumble through some clever line to the media but the fact remains that he is classless. When someone repeatedly tells you that what you think happened didn't happen and tries to repair a friendship, you should have at least a little tact in your reply, regardless of whether you want to mend the friendship or not.

It's funny how through all of the various Shaquille statements over the past months, Kobe has continued to remain silent. Not a word....At some point Shaquille, you too need to get over it. All you're doing by running your oversized trap is continuing to fortify your legacy with Kobe while Kobe begins a legacy apart from you.

Thanksgiving

A very quiet one for the Xpinionated family. This is the first Thanksgiving that I can remember that I haven't been with my family. A little sad but I didn't think too much of that yesterday. Just me and the ol' battleaxe eating, sleeping and watching movies. Actually we haven't left the house in over 36 hours....

BlogExplosion and such

I am suddenly realizing that there is no way that I will be able to block as many blogs as I need to. There are so many people out there who seem to have trouble seeing two, let alone any numeral greater than two, sides to an issue or story. It's disgusting....I wish Canada weren't so cold sometimes.....

Gmail Invites for Contest Winners!!!

I'm sure you've seen other blogs offering gmail invites. First come, first serve they tout. Well not here at Xpinionated, nope here, you gotta earn your gmail invites.

"But sire, how ever will we earn such a prestigious reward", cried the loyal readers and necomers alike.

"Heeheee," giggled King Xpionio Nated, "I'll tell you how! But alas, I won't tell you until I get some ideas from you readers"

Okay, my bad, don't know where I was going with that. Anyway, I have 6 invites and the rights to hiphopfan@gmail.com. In order to get them, there will be a contest...unfortunately, I'm having trouble coming up with what contest it will be. So here's the deal, today and tomorrow I will be accepting contest ideas...the person with the best idea will receive an invite automatically. The other invites will go to the winner of the contest.

Horrible sign of the times

The following article was printed in the Kansas City Star. It's an
article by Jason Whitlock. I find myself saddened by this
article...and I'll throw my opinions in where I see fit....

Posted on Mon, Nov. 22, 2004
Click here to find out more!

Race plays role as NBA deals with Detroit fiasco

By JASON WHITLOCK

Kansas City Star

NBA commissioner David Stern sent a message to his players Sunday.

By issuing three of the harshest penalties in league history - a
73-game suspension of Ron Artest, 30 games for Stephen Jackson and 25
games for Jermaine O'Neal - Stern let his players know that the league
will aggressively try to clean up its image problem.

For their role in Friday's ugly brawl at Detroit, the Pacers,
favorites to represent the East in the NBA finals, received the death
penalty. Indiana's season is over. O'Neal, Artest, both All-Stars, and
Jackson are Indiana's three best players.

Stern had no choice. TV ratings for the league have been steadily
falling since Michael Jordan's heyday. The league's image has been in
decline since Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Jordan ruled.

Allen Iverson, Latrell Sprewell, Kobe Bryant, Dream Team failures, an
embrace of all the negative aspects of the hip-hop culture and a
horrid style of play have conspired to make the NBA easy to ignore.
Horrid style of play? Most people complain that
there is no defense. Funny thing is in the NBA's heyday the scoring
was significantly higher in the 80's than it is today. Defense wasn't
a problem then???By decimating the Pacers and publicly
acknowledging that there has been a lowering of expectations in terms
of player (and fan) behavior, Stern made it clear he's not in denial
about the NBA's troubles.

I am, however, concerned that the league's players will remain in
denial. Surrounded by groupies and yes-men, fortified by
multimillion-dollar contracts and endorsement deals, it will be easy
for NBA players to misinterpret Stern's warning.



In this column, I am calling on my peers in the media to level with
NBA players (and all professional athletes) and tell them what's
really going on.

American sports fans, particularly those who consistently shell out
the hundreds of dollars it takes to attend a professional game, are
fed up with black professional basketball players in particular and
black professional athletes to a lesser degree.color="#800000"> But they aren't fed up with the baseball fights, the
hockey fights. It's only when black players are involved is the fight
not good....?

Yeah, let's cut through all the garbage and get to the real issue. The
people paying the bills don't like the product, don't like the
attitude, don't like the showboating and don't like the flamboyance.
The NBA, which relies heavily on African-American players, is at the
forefront of fan backlash. Stern realizes this, and that's why,
spurred on by the Detroit brawl, he is reacting decisively.

What the players must come to grips with is that just because race is
an element in the backlash, that doesn't mean the backlash is fueled
by racism At this point, I feel Jason is just
trying to make sure he doesn't get called for playing the race(ism)
card. How can he not admit the racism involved in this statement
alone?.

We're witnessing a clash of cultures. A predominately white fan base
is rejecting a predominately black style of play and sportsmanship.

Who is on the right side of this argument? The group that is always
right in a capitalistic society. The customer. That's why Stern,
endorsed by his owners, came down hard on the players. He stated that
the NBA would take steps to ensure that its fans improved their
behavior. But Stern knows the real solutions are in the hands of his
players. A good businessman caters to his audience. They don't play
country music at my dad's inner-city bar for a reason.

Stern's players must bow to the desires of their fan base.color="#800000"> Read: The players must sell out. Deny who you are
and what you stand for. Ignore where you came from. You must be as
the white man wants you....kinda makes the whole 60's thing a waste of
fire hydrant water and good tennis shoes doesn't it?

In general, African-American athletes have always been - for lack of a
better description - more expressive and flamboyant on the field of
play. Go back to the Negro Leagues - showboating was part of the
entertainment package. The Negro Leagues catered to a predominately
black fan base.

We, black people, begged for integration. We demanded the right to
play in the major leagues, the NBA, the NFL, the NHL Yes we begged for integration....and by that I mean we begged to be accepted, treated equally....not assimilated....but accepted as we are.. These leagues accommodate a white audience. As long as
the customer base is white, the standard for appropriate
sportsmanship, style of play and appearance should be set by white
people Does this sound even remotely like we're
still in America. Perhaps instead of making basketball fit into the
white customer's version of how it should be....maybe we should make
NBA games a little more available to other cultures that may not
believe in the 'sportsmanship, style of play and appearance'
acceptable to white people. This statement is fucked (pardon my
unacceptable faux pas in the language category...alas it is not
ebonics though) up for so many reasons .

This is fair, particularly when the athletes/employees earn millions
of dollars and have the freedom to do whatever - and I mean whatever -
they want when they're not playing or practicing.

If African-American players are unwilling to accept this reality, NBA
owners will speed up the internationalization of their team's rosters.
Many African-American players with NBA-quality skill will soon find
themselves circling the country playing basketball with Hot Sauce and
the And 1 Tour while Yao Nowitzki collects a $10 million NBA check. And the funny thing is, when the league loses the black players, they will lose the black audience, you know the ones who made athletic endorsements what they are today. Once that happens, then the NBA is truly done.

The black players will have no one to blame but themselvescolor="#800000"> Yes, because in the 'Land of the Free' (I try
desperately to say that with a straight face'), you can be anything and
all your dreams can come true...that is if you've properly
assimilated. Can't have too many successful people from the hood
hanging at the country club. .


I used to respect Jason Whitlock as I've read his articles on
ESPN.com....but in my opinion he should be ashamed of himself. He's
playing the race card but it's in his own efforts to assimilate.

My question is why is it when Black athletes get in heated and
physical situations, it suddenly becomes a by product of the hip hop
culture. But when white athletes get heated and in physical
situations, their actions don't represent an entire group of people ie
they aren't the typical white athlete, or there actions aren't a
by-product of the Metallica album they use to get hyped for the game?

I'm not condoning Ron Artest's actions at all. But I do want some
accountability held to the fans much more than the passing sentence or
two that the media is providing.

VT Basketball Season

The Hokies basketball season got started last Friday night with a 81 - 58 thumping of Maryland....oops, I meant Loyola of Maryland....you know what I mean. Three players were in double figures as Va Tech easily neutered the Greyhounds. Leading scorer Carlos Dixon had 21, followed by Deron Washington with 20 and Coleman Collins with 11. Next up is Maryland Eastern Shore tonite. Eastern Shore is coming off an embarrasing 83 - 42 loss to Fresno State.

Philly Game

The 'Skins played pretty damn well through 2 and a half quarters. The turning point was coming up empty after having 1st and goal with a chance to take the lead and ending up with 3rd an goal from the flippin' 30 yard line. After that, the defense seems like it just went limp....and for good reason.

Week in Review

2 - 1 for the week with wins over the Clippers and the Bulls and a game effort in a loss to the Suns. I must say that although the free throws in the Suns game shows the same number of FTA, the timing of some of the calls against the Lakers were devastating. Also, it seemed like Amare Stoudemire was allowed to go over anyone's back whenever he wanted, but if the Lamar or any other Laker got close to a Sun there was a whistle blown.

I'm known to be pretty critical of the referees. My main reason is because they tend to blow the whistle in anticipation of a foul much more often than when a foul actually occurs. Also, I don't understand why all professional sports (in the States anyway) use older referees who 1)often never played in the NBA, 2) are starting to reach that point where there physical assets, such as sight, are starting to wear down, and 3)have developed reputations for disliking certain players. It's no secret that some refs are quicker to call a technical on a certain player much quicker than he would anyone else. Also, it's high time referees start getting held accountable for horrible calls. Not every horrible call, but if it appears that the outcome of a game has been affected (and not just on a final shot or in the last minute), then the NBA should review the game and have some form of accountability whether it be fines, probation, suspension etc....

The final Stretch

Well Hokies fans, we have reached that point in the season. Does anyone remember what the 'pundit's' were saying about the Hokies when this season started? We were the other team joining the ACC. We were expected to finish 5th or 6th in the conference. It was supposed to be a down year for the Fighting Gobblers.

Now is the time to define what has already been a great, if not nerve wracking at times, season. With wins in our final two games, the Hokies can claim the ACC title. This achievement is something that has been 50 plus years in the making as the Hokies have been snubbed by the ACC on more than one occasion since the old Southern Conference disbanded. How fitting would an ACC championship in the first year be?

Let's not get ahead of ourselves though. We still have what will be the two toughest games on our schedule left (and that includes the fallacy that was the USC game): Virginia in Blacksburg, followed by Miami in Coral Gables.

Beating Virginia is going to come down to stopping their triple threat running game. Peariman and Lundy are both great backs that are capable of making huge plays anytime they touch the ball. Hagans is a threat to run from the quarterback position should no one be open. If the Hokies can jump on them early and force them to pass moreso than run, then the defense can get a little more opportunistic in its blitz packages and hopefully cause some turnovers.

Offensively, Mike Imoh has got to be ready to play after tweaking his hamstring early against Maryland. If not, the Hokies will still need Humes or Hamilton to step up out of the backfield. If Randall plays as well as he as the past few games, the passing game (particularly to the tight ends) should do it's job.

Hokies 24, Cavaliers 14

Beautiful Picture

A picture this beautiful probably has some copyright action going on so I'll just post the link here.

Wow, That Was Fun!

55 - 6. Going into the quarter up 55 - 3, I started having fantasies of a 70 point victory. Don't get it twisted, I didn't want to keep the starters in there for that....oh no, I wanted the backups to come and eat a little bit off the plate.

I know in my last post I mentioned wanting some kind of test as a gauge. Well, to put this in perspective, Virginia beat Maryland in Charlottesville 16 - 0.....using my sketchy athletic algebra, Va Tech should beat Virginia. But let's not look ahead.

My condolences go out to Coach Beamer and his family in regards to the death of his mother.

Tonite

Maryland.

This is a game that the Hokies should control from kickoff to final horn. Based on the games they have already played, our defense should be able to dominate their offense. Plus a Thursday night game in Blacksburg means a more electrical atmosphere than usual.

I'm hoping for a blowout but at the same time I don't want a game that is too easy seeing as we had a bye last week and we'll have 9 days after this game to our revenge game against UVA. Tech 31, Maryland 10.

Reclaiming our town

With the Clippers off to a decent start and the Lakers struggling relative to what the fans are used to, there were grumblings that the 'other' team in L.A. could soon be the Lakers.

Squash that!!! Last night's 103 - 89 victory over the Slips...uh Clips proved once again who the third team is in L.A. (gotta hand it to the Sparks of the WNBA).

Pulling away in the fourth quarter, the Lakers looked like they were starting to get a hand for each other....team defense was up, passing was on point, and everybody was hustling like the Clips had the lead. And the team looked like they were just having fun.

BY Popular Demand

Ok it wasn't popular demand but it was demanded....

Top 5 Reasons Black Folks don't Play hockey (much)

• #5 - When's the last time you associated black people with Canada??


• #4 - Ice ain't nuthin' but frozen water....I've told you about our experience with water!


• #3 - Gold teeth ain't cheap, you can't afford to lose them (I know this is a horrible stereotype....leave me alone....I know better)


• #2 - No Shoe Contracts


• #1 - When a fight breaks out, you know the black guy is gonna get arrested!!

Lakers vs Clips

Not enough time to post but by my scientific video game methods here is the final score:

Lakers 114, Clippers 82

And I'm gone.....

Read the this post from the annoyed Canadian

This post from the annoyed Canadian kinda annoyed me....read it here since I really don't have permission to reprint it. Also, read my comment back as this topic has bothered me for quite some time.

I really wish people would stop putting the impetus for role modeling on celebrities whether they be musicians, actors, athletes or whatever. The emphasis for role modeling should basically be if you don't know the person personally, then you should find another role model. It starts with the parents. Parents should be the first option as a role model. Secondly, school teachers or pastors (if you're the church going type), aunts, uncles, somebody that you come in actual daily or at least periodic contact with. It's fine to look up to Magic Johnson or some celebrity but kids shouldn't be copying celebrities. One, these are grown adults who are forced to live their personal life in the public eye due to a societal sickness to be extremely nosey. Two, these people didn't ask to be role models so they shouldn't be held accountable as such.

Wedding Misery

I really, really wish it were the day after the wedding so I could just chill....just chill....nothing to do, nothing . . . .ah sweet nothings in my ear

Carnival of Sin

Check out the Carnival of Sin. It's a conblogeration of interesting blogs compiled by a linguistically interesting New York Escort......I'll leave it at that.....

Hostettler mounting campaign to change the name of Interstate 69

Hostettler mounting campaign to change the name of Interstate 69

This nugget was brought to my attention by Electablog. Apparently, the morality of America is in danger because of Interstate 69.....I get the possible undertones of it but gee whiz, I hate to think that Indiana's biggest problem is the number of an Interstate.

Now true, if the Interstate is extended as planned to Texas or whatever, then it's breaking the numbering system for the Interstate system. Fine, then have that be the reason. But don't try to get public support from the sexually boring folks based on the significance of the number 69. The senator states that 'It's the moral thing to do' in reference to changing it to I-63. He goes on to mention being 'snickered' at while wearing an I-69 button. What the hell are you wearing an I - 69 button for? And what do you expect wearing a button that says I 69??? That's like me being a chef with a t-shirt saying 'I toss salad'. I'd be disappointed if no one laughed at my dumb ass!!!!

Men's Fragrances

Why are men's fragrances always named with some nature related theme? My soap is Old spice Mountain Rush. I don't recall the last time I was in the mountains and said, 'Now this is what I want to smell like!' Women have fragrances like Strawberry Apricot Illusions....I have Forest Rain?

Brunell Benched

Hallelujah!!! It only took the first 10 weeks of the season for Mr. Gibbs to realize he had made a mistake. Now, I can look forward to Redskins games again, though the playoffs are a long shot, at least I can see what Patrick Ramsey can do in an offense designed to keep the QB healthy. This move should really be good for the entire Redksins team; the offense will have more than one option to moving the ball, the defense will spend less time on the field hopefully keeping them fresher (if they aren't already spent from the time spent on the field with Brunell's inadequacies), and the games should be a little more exciting.

I am a little worried that P-Ram's first matchup is against a strong Philly team. But they will be playing on a short week so we'll see......

.500 Road Trip

Road trip didn't go as well as expected with a blowout loss to Memphis and a blown lead against Houston. Wins over Houston and New Orleans do little to make up for our play in the other games. In fact, the narrow escape in New Orleans turned out to be the potential sign of a problem with this year's Lakers. After holding a 33 point lead in New Orleans, the Lakers needed several key buckets down the stretch to get a victory. The following night, they were simply blown out in the second quarter against Memphis and couldn't come back. I don't see this team as the kind of team capable of a comeback for the simple fact that a comeback means Kobe will become one dimensional....he gets the ball, he will shoot in a comeback situation. That's not the way this team is going to be successful. Don't get me wrong, the ball does need to go through Kobe but not only as a scoring option. We have looked our best when we can get multiple folks in double digits and Kobe scores around 26 or 27. This means the Butlers, Odoms, Mihms, and Atkins are getting their touches to which keeps the defense honest.

But back to the potential problem, in Orlando Friday night, the Lakers held a 37 - 21 lead after the first quarter. At halftime, the score was 57 - 55 . . . Orlando!. The Lakers cannot continue to give up big leads. The same happened against Houston as well where a double digit lead suddenly was no more. It's almost as if the team relaxes on defense and stops running as hard. I'll keep an eye out on this trend but I can't promise anything as my once proven sports bar still has not ordered the NBA League pass.....

Christmas Hoopla

Is anyone else absolutely disgusted at how early people start celebrating\preparing for Christmas? Here in the States (can't really call them the United States but I don't talk politics), there were signs of Christmas preparations before Halloween. That means there are two major holidays before the big un and it disgusts me. In our neighborhood, someone already has Christmas lights up. Each year they start earlier and earlier. I imagine soon Christmas in July won't be just a joke or a weekly sales advertisement.......

Win and Go to the SuperBowl

Apparently, the last two times the Redskins have played the Bengals, the winner of the game has gone on to make an appearance in the Super Bowl. In 1991, Redskins beat the bengals and went on to beat the Bills in the Super Bowl. In 1988, the Bengals laid it on the 'Skins and made an appearance in Super Bowl 23 (Roman numerals bother me). With both teams at 3 -5, it's not out of the question! Bu then again, the Redskins lost the game before the election and bush is still president so there goes any chances of that.....and the Red Sox won the Series

Drunk Phelps Kid

Michael Phelps, the Olympic poster boy of this past summer's games, got himself a DUI this past week. That got me to thinking, why aren't there any black swimmers, blacks tend to do so well at so many sports yet seem completely absent from others, where my people at?!?! So here's my top 5 reasons you don't see black swimmers:

Top 5 Reasons You Don't See Black Swimmers

• 5. Water just sits on top of our hair, doesn't soak in, makes us look funny on the camera.


• 4. Growing up, we played in the hose or the fire hydrant, we didn't have a stinkin' pool to learn to swim in. And if we did, it was entirely too crowded for anything more than standing around or it didn't extend past the middle of your calves.


• 3. Chlorine makes us ashy!


• 2. Swimming involves water. We have had a collectively bad experience with water.


• 1. Can't find any speedos that fit!!

Good Grief

What exactly does this statement mean? Good....grief. Most folks don't associate grief with good and vice versa.....

Well, I don't really feel much like blogging today. I think I have a weather related depression disorder. Whenever it's raining, I don't much feel like being bothered. But at the same time, sunshine makes me sleepy. However, I can't think of a single thing wrong with the night time!!!!

Cincy coming to DC

For most of my NFL life, a game against Cincinnati was a guaranteed victory, no need to watch, wow that was easy kind of affair. To quote Poe, nevermore. Cincy walloped Dallas last week and looks to continue in that fashion at Washington this week. I don't know a lot about Cincy except they have a talented Chad Johnson catching the balls and a serviceable Rudi Johnson (it's so hard to respect anyone name Rudy) running the rock. Once again, I think this will be a low scoring affair due to the Redskins Defensive success and the Redskins Offensive ineptitude. Hell why not, Redskins 17 - Cincy 10.

New Orleans and Memphis

The New Orleans game was the best of both worlds. The Lakers methodically created a 33 point lead, 31 heading into the fourth quarter. And in one desperate quarter managed to lose most of that lead escaping 106 -98 Tuesday night. Caron Butler looked very good, as if his ankle tweak didn't bother him in the least.

One thing to note is that though Kobe is scoring a lot of points, his actual fg% isn't earning many accolades. Many of his points are coming from the foul line. Nothing states that more than last night's Tennessee bashing as Memphis bent the Lakers over every way possible with a 110 - 87 rout. Bryant shot 4 of 19 in the losing effort scoring 20 points (these stats are based off memory, feel free to correct me). I can't say a whole lot about this game because my oh-so-trustworthy sports bar that allows me to see the west coast games while living on the east coast is having second thoughts about purchasing the NBA League Pass package. The worst part is they didn't realize the free trial ended Tuesday night so they hadn't renewed their subscription meaning I saw only Nationally televised games last night.

Yawning

Why do we have to cover our mouth when we yawn. We don't cover it when we sigh and that's the same air coming out as when we yawn. We don't cover our mouths when we our out of breath and yep you guessed it, same air. And we can't be doing to be polite or to hide the fact that we're yawning because as soon as you cover your mouth, everyone in the room knows you're yawning...people don't randomly cover their mouth unless they're Seelie from the Color Purple.....

Brunell

I still don't understand Gibbs right now. From a CBS Sportsline article:
PLAYER NOTES

--QB Mark Brunell continues to get coach Joe Gibbs' backing despite hitting 51.1 percent of his passes and averaging just 5.2 yards per attempt. Brunell attempted just two passes in the second half of Sunday's win because Gibbs wanted to ensure the Redskins didn't make a mistake.

What has to happen before Gibbs moves on. Two passes in the second half??? You know what's going to happen with this style of playcalling, Portis gets hurt due to overwork, Brunell's incompetence shows even further. Gibbs finally pulls him and puts Ramsey in. Unfortunately, Ramsey is now put into an offensive scheme in which the defense knows the offense will pass, leading to an all out assault on the quarterback. Ramsey will get battered like he was a protege in a Spurrier offense and the pundits will start saying Ramsey's not ready for the pros.....

Closing in

I haven't mentioned it much on the blog here because I try to avoid speaking of my Fiancee too much. I don't want this to be a rant place for me against her (though the way I said that sounds horrible) not that I would need one. But I just realized that I am to be married in less than a month. Married!?!? People keep asking me if I'm excited and I keep telling them no. I think it's misunderstood. They are asking me if I am excited about the wedding as opposed to am I excited about being married. I never had daydreams of what my wedding day would be like. In fact, I don't understand why women would intentionally and purposefully want the unnecessary hassle, burden, stress, and most of all expenses.

Weddings are so overcharged they make prostitutes in Vegas feel like a bargain at Sam's Club. $4000 for a photographer??? $42/person for the reception???? And that's just serving appetizers with beer and wine.

Anyway, the motivation for this post has left me as I realized it's time for me to sneak on outta here.......

Names

What is this thing people seem to have nowadays with naming their kids with last names as first names. I know, I know, I should be open minded and realize that just because a name has been a last name for what seems like forever doesn't mean it can't be an ingenious firstname. But if I see one more Connor, Kennedy, or Taylor kid I'm gonna puke. There are babies out there named with nothing but traditional last names. What happened to Samuel, or Erin, or Aaron, or any of the first names that use to just be first names.

Personally, I think it's the devil WB Network at the head of all this. Silly folks watching that channel then naming their kids based on shows from the teen angst capitol of networking shouldn't be shot, but a switch spanking may not be out of order.

New #1

Last week I made note that Mommy blogs annoyed me....well mommy blogs weren't strong enough to hold on to their number 1 ranking....Political blogs (particularly Republican ones) are getting to be quite annoying as well. Now I will be labeled as a democrat because I mentioned the GOP but I am not a Democrat. In fact, I don't claim any political party, they are all full of it (I would have cursed but I'm trying to make some affiliate money on this here site to pay for the expensive one - L - Boogie (me fiance). Without further ado, the top 5 annoying blog types:

   
1. Republican blogs
      
2. Democrat blogs
      
3. Mommy blogs
      
4. Religious blogs
      
5. 5 is a nice round number but I don't have a fifth....and if I did have a fifth I'd be drinking it by now....

Kobe Digest

Stumbled upon the following Kobe Digest. The author has a pretty impressive collection of current Kobe Bryant articles. Fortunately for you my faithful readers, I refuse to read those articles because I don't want the smear of the media to cloud my independent thinking.....yeeeeaaahhh.....OKAY

Early Schedule

I just noticed that we have not had more than a day off since the season started. What led me to check was because I was reviewing Phoenix's schedule and noticed that they will have only played 6 games by the end of this week compared to 8 for the Lakers. Something's going on ... . . . . .okay maybe I'm just being paranoid....

Division Realignment

I just looked at the division realignments effective this year in depth. I find it hard to believe that there are those out there saying the Lakers have no chance whatsoever to win their division. There's certainly a challenge in winning the division but 'no chance'??? That's absurdity, yes absurdity. Once again this brings me to question the so called 'experts'.

The division consists of The Lake Show, The Clips, The Suns, The Queens, and Golden State (no nickname for them, just can't think of one). You gotta believe the Lake Show should be able to finish above the Clips and Golden State. So that leaves the 0 - 3 Queens and the 3 - 0 Suns. I haven't had a chance to see either of these teams play with the 04-05 models of their respective teams. So everything I say here is blind faith and sometimes that is what makes a sports fan a sports fan....not all the time, just some of the time. The Lake Show owns the Queens, plain and simple...no matter how good they are playing or how bad the Lakers are playing, when the game means something you can count on the Queens choking. Phoenix is the wild card here. The Suns had a nice offseason and are off to a helluva start. The question in my mind is the health and fatigue of Shawn Marion who seems to fade as the year progresses. And keep in mind their 3 games have come against the Hawks, the Nets, and Philly with Philly probably being their best victory to date.

First Extended Roadie of the Year

The first extended road trip of the year begins tonite with a game against the New Orleans Hornets. The road trip ends in Houston facing Yao and T-Mac (sounds like a comic book or something) with stops at Memphis and Orlando. Ideally we come back 4 -0 from this road trip but since the trip consists of an odd two sets of back to backs, that's highly unlikely. My guess is we finish this 3-1 losing in Houston in the tail end of the second set of back to backs. This will make three back to back sets already in the first two weeks of the season. Schedule Gods still punishing us for not beating Detroit the way we should have......

Bye Week

The Hokies are off this weekend after winning a good game at upset minded North Carolina. One disturbing trend I saw in that game happened at least twice on third and 4 or 5 yards. We go with an all out blitz leaving our secondary in one on one situations which I don't mind. THe part that bothers me is that the secondary didn't play up tight and do a little bump and run to give the blitz time to get to the quarterback. So the QB ends up lofting it high and long and the UNC wide receivers just outrun the secondary to the ball and a touchdown. THis happened twice that I know of. Other than that the 27 -24 win was fun to watch especially if you're a running fan in that first half. UNC's RB was averging 11 yards a carry at one point in the second quarter while Imoh was at over 8 yards a carry. Luckily for the Hokies, the defense tightened up in that second half against the run. The final score should have definitely been by a larger margin but special teams (particularly the punt team - 2nd time they've given up points this year) mistakes and a sudden move away from the running game once we had a 13 point lead allowed UNC to make this game closer than it should have been.

Beer Coupons

Quick question: why are they never ever any beer coupons in the sunday paper. I've come across cigarette coupons but never beer coupons. It's a conspiracy.....a flat out conspiracy!!!

McDonald's Scam

Has anyone ever seen a million dollar McDonald's monopoly winner? Or any McD's monopoly winner that won more than a free sno cone or french fries.

As I stated in an earlier post, I get all excited about monopoly at McD's. But as I mature, relatively speaking, I find myself rather bitter. I have eaten at this establishment considerably more than I normally would just for monopoly pieces. I've even won several little to no value prizes from their second chance game....Ironically, I was unable to win any of their good prizes in that same second chance game.

Even further, I have never....ever.......ever seen a boardwalk piece. Here's my theory...the McDonald's on the east coast are all sent a set of pieces ie Park Place and Illinois Ave. But all the Boardwalks are sent to the west coast. This way the chances of one person getting both pieces is slim to none. And personally, I think they do that with all of the prize groups....it disgusts me. I think we should write a petition to find out how many people have ever actually won the million bucks. As well as a list of winners who won something over $500.................are u wit me??!?!

Victory of over road weary Hawks

The Atlanta Hawks new slogan should be: The Atlanta Hawks - Ending Other Teams' Losing Streaks One Game at a Time.

Seriously though, it was nice to see Caron Butler have a big game and I hope his ankle injury late in the game isn't serious. Also, it was nice to see the energy that the Lakers had against the Nuggets reappear as hands seemed to be everywhere. I'm still a little worried about how well we take care of the ball sometimes but all in all last night was a pretty good effort. THis team is starting to look they are going to make a return to the run and gun of the '80's which if nothing else makes for an exciting game!

Format Change

I've decided that every now and again I will talk college football in general. The focus will still be mainly on the Fighting Gobblers of Virginia Tech but when there's an issue that I need conversate on then it will happen here or on Xpinionated.

ESPN SImulation

No comments on the Spurs game. Disgusted at the officiating, disgusted at our inability to make a flippin' layup...just frustrated in general.

Simulated tonight's game against the Hawks....Kobe scores 40 in a 101 - 73 Lakers rout....

Redskins Victorious

I didn't see the game and I haven't done my in depth analysis yet but a victory is a victory! Hopefully this 17 - 10 victory over the Lions will be the first in a nice run to finishing this season.

Detroit Game

Mystifying irony of the week: Detroit ranks 32nd in offense and 28th in defense....yes their offense is worse than ours! Yet they are 5 - 2 whereas we are 2 - 5. To our credit that 80% of our losses have been by a touchdown or less.

I actually saw Detroit play Atlanta here in the Georgia Dome. I can't say they were particularly impressive though they did manage to come away with a victory. I think this game will probably turn out to be a mildly interesting matchup if not for the pitiful offenses involved. Redskins 21 -13

Convicted spammer gets nine years in jail

Convicted spammer gets nine years in jail

Good for my home state of Va. I hate spam. Although nine years in prison for bulk emailing is gonna make it hard on the poor guy. That's worse than spending a night in jail for something like jaywalking. I can hear the conversation now:

B-Roc the Murderer: Whatchu here for?
C-Spam...the...spammer: Uh....
B-Roc: Rape? Murder? Whatchu do? How much time you got?
C-Spam: I got nine on some trumped up charges.....
B-Roc: I'm in it for life....that family deserved to die....whatchu do?
C-Spam: Uh....I got a little carried away with . . . . uh
B-Roc: Spit out fish!
C-Spam: I'm a spammer ok? I spam!!
B-Roc: Spam? What is that? You like flashin ol' ladies and little boys or somethin'? What the hell is a spammer?
C-Spam: I send lots of emails that folks don't want...
B-Roc: Hee hee, you're jokin right? Fish, You are now my bitch.

Bad Tidings

I'm in a very bad mood this morning. I don't think I like our society to much at all. Things that have been bothering me about our society:

• TV - Is it me or has TV basically become a place for teen angst. I swear as a teenager I never remember having as much drama in my life as the OC. Here in Atlanta, there's a horrible pop radio station called Q100. They have the worst morning show I have ever seen (save for Crash Clark, but that's because he's a known alcoholic and he just does weather and traffic) called the Bert Show. Bert epitomizes the massacre of masculinity that has slowly been occurring over the past five to ten years. But more on that another time. They spent the entire morning talking about TV shows that are basically geared to teenage girls, which would be anything on the WB and half the stuff on FOX. Now these are grown ass men anticipating Gilmore Girls and the OC. Bert even admitted to being a big Oprah fan. This is a man (used very loosely) who has been whipped into silly puddy by his wife.


• The Death of Masculinity - Ever notice how in most commercials nowadays men are made to look stupid. Or in today's sitcoms, even if the woman is at fault it somehow becomes the man's fault? Or how television is quick to show feminine hygiene product commercials but you never see the commercial for Trojans? Or even worse when the tampon commercial comes on during football but you never see an athlete's foot commercial during a soap opera. Masculinity is dying a slow agonizing death. Far too many men are just giving in rather than standing up for themselves. It's disgusting. A plethora of married men have told me upon finding out about my engagement that I need to learn the words 'Yes, dear'. I've been told that I should only expect to win 10% of the arguments over the course of the marriage and that I should pick my battles. Uh, I thought this marriage thing was supposed to be a compromise?

There's other things but I just realized I'm pretty tired of typing.

Embarrassment

Last night's performance was embarassing. 29% from the field on 7 assists. Both franchise lows. I think the difference tonite started early in the game. Compared to last night, the energy level and the passing were way down. I think Kobe wanted to come out and establish his own game early which didn't bode well for the role players. To Kobe's credit he did keep us in the game during the third quarter and midway through the fourth keeping the game within a reachable 13 -17 points. But there was no defense, no jumping out to guard open jumpers, fouling on layups but not fouling hard enough....and way too many offensive fouls in attempts to establish position on the post. I think that had 4 out of their 6 or so offensive fouls called in the 3rd quarter.

So far, the worst

Right now, the Lakers are shooting horribly. The refs have called three offensive fouls in three posessions, two of them I didn't see.

The fears of a back to back against a team for their season and home opener have come true. No player midway through the third quarter has more than 3 FGs. The energy of last night has completely disappeared. Down 24 and their doesn't appear to be any fire. Frustration is setting in as Chucky Atkins has gotten a technical and the refs are blowing the whistle every 30 seconds.

Utah Preview

I am not going to promise a preview and recap of every single Lakers game just because I know me and I can be lazy or distracted pretty easy.

With that said, tonite's game against Utah (ESPN NBA 2K5 simulation has not occurred) should be interesting. After the adrenaline of opening night, I worry about a let down versus Utah in the second night of a back to back. Also, it's the home opener for Utah so I expect a lot of energy from that team.

Lakers roll past Nuggets in Fairly Easy Win

Last night's game was comforting. Not knowing what to expect and coming out the way we did makes me feel much better about how this team will perform this year.

The first quarter really set the tone and threw Denver for a loop. I think they were expecting Kobe to come out with guns a'blazin' but instead it was Chris Mihm who was lighting it up. Mihm should excellent post up abilities against smaller players and nice finishes throughout the first quarter with a couple of dunks to boot.

Caron Butler came out pretty agressive as well in the first quarter with a lot of driving to the bucket.

Most impressive was the active hands on defense in that first quarter. Everyone was closing in on open defenders. No shots were being conceded, challenge everything! Lamar Odom did an excellent job of rebounding. He also showed the ball skills to rebound and start the break which can be a big advantage if we are to become the running team that I think we are trying to become.

In the 2nd quarter, I noticed that we started pretty slow. Luckily, thanks to Denver's horrific shooting we didn't lose the lead or momentum we had built in the first quarter. In fact, the lead grew thanks in large part to a couple of three's from Chucky Atkins.

We seemed to suffer another lull after halftime as we were trying too hard to feed Chris Mihm. Passes were stolen and there were far too many turnovers. By the time the offense got back on track in the mid 3rd, the defense had begun to lull (lull is the word of the day....yeeeeaaaaaah said in Crank Yankers fashion). The fourth quarter was much of the same, though Denver did make it a little interesting toward the end by getting within seven. All in all, an excellent effort all around. Offensive production was spread out pretty well and to think that the best effort from the 'Summer of Dissolve' came from the 'supposed' weakest acquisition Chris Mihm is somehow gratifying.

CBS.SportsLine.com - NBA Heat won't know if Shaq can play opener until game time

CBS.SportsLine.com - NBA Heat won't know if Shaq can play opener until game time

Normally, this blog will not contain information that doesn't directly affect the Lakers. HOWEVER, after all the talk about Shaquille O'Neal being in shape etc etc and so on, turns out he is STILL questionable at the beginning of the NBA season....surprise there?!?!

Season Opener - Tonite

Life without the Big Fundamentaless starts tonite. No more slowing down the game so Shaquille O'Neal can clog the middle. No more having the biggest guy on the court not being the leading rebounder. No more defense when he feels like it....

It is a new era. The offense goes through Kobe and I don't mind that. This Lakers team is deeper than last year's team and there is no power struggle. And despite the offense flowing through Kobe, this will be a team oriented Lakers squad.

Basketball is about roles and despite what your traditional pundits like to think, one of those roles is scorer. Kobe is the primary scorer. The fact that along with scoring he brings defense as well as passing is just KY on the virgin! As long as the other players play to their roles and potential, there's no reason this team can't win the Pacific...again.

I know, a lot of folks have us in the lower half of the Playoff seeding and the haters have us missing the playoffs altogether. But let's think about this, Sacramento is the prohibitive favorite to win the division. They are no longer as deep as they once were. Couple that with Peja's desire to be traded and Chris Webber's inability to take it to the next level (and he wouldn't have taken it to the next level regardless of his injury last year, it's just not in him) and Sacramento is not so formidable. Golden State and Portland will definitely be better but there's no way you can say either of those teams are going to beat out both the Lakers and the Kings (at least not until you start playing some games). And the Clips...well let's not taint this blog with the Clips.

Keys to tonite's game. Match Denver's intensity. Denver is a hungry team, playoffs last year after season after season of depressing futility means they want it even more. Kobe does need to get everyone else involved, particularly Odom who has struggled somewhat shooting in the preseason. I also think Caron Butler plays a big part in this game as a tempo changer off the bench.

ESPN NBA 2K5 simulation: Nuggets 98 - Lakers 87. I knew I should have gotten NBA Live 2005.....

Mommy Blogs

I don't want to offend the mothers out there. I really don't. But I am having trouble finishing my lunch because of all these mommy blogs. It's really getting sickening.

I sincerely hope that when I do (God willing) have children, that I am able to sustain some form of my original personality. I don't want to become one of those parents that is nothing but a parent now...their entire personality, their entire being, is being a parent. I want to love my kids and raise them right but I sincerely hope I can find something else to talk about. I'm sure I will be proud of the little mulattos when I have them and want to talk about them....but I hope I will know when enough is enough....

Experts and Reporters

I was just perusing CBS Sportsline. I go there now on account that I won a 2 month subscription to their VIP service thanks to McDonald's Monopoly game. Previous posts will let yall know how I feel about Monopoly at McDonald's.

But I digress. Perusing CBS Sportsline, I realized that I rarely agree with any of their expert reporters...you know the ones assigned to cover just the NFL or just the NBA. In fact, I find that they usually just jump on the nearest bandwagon and ride that through every one of their articles.

That got me to thinking....and it hurt. But I did it anyway. I thought, how exactly does one become an expert in say the NBA. What could he have possibly put on his resume that allowed his employer to ascertain that this reporter was an NBA expert. I sincerely believe that most of these "experts", or dare I say pundit since this is an electionally charged day and we'll hear that several times throughout the day, really just say stuff like I'm an expert because I watch a lot of basketball.

I mean what else could make you an expert? I watch a lot of sports, with an emphasis on Basketball and Football, so am I too an expert or pundit???

Butler stays, Rush to test free agency

L.A. Daily News - More Sports Headlines

Kareem Rush will be given the opportunity to test the free agent market and see what life in the NBA is like not backing up Kobe Bryant. I understand his desire to see what he is worth but I feel he may be following the footsteps of Tyrone Lue. Remember that name, he had a couple good games during our championship years a few back and thought he should start. So he left and joined the Wizards....and well that's the last we've heard of him.

Caron Butler will remain through 05-06 and get to build some new chemistry with his new team. I like this kid thoguh I haven't seen a lot of him. He's been a little injury prone which is something I hope can be avoided this year. We'll see how this pans out....