On Hold

All opinions concerning Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers are on hold indefinitely.  As you Kobe has backtracked a little on his trade demand.  However, unless something major occurs before the start of preseason, I will not be surprised if grumblings begin again...and justifiably so.

Changes

Lil man, you don't even look like the same chewed purple skittle the doctor raised into the air nearly six months ago.  You've filled out with your chubby cheeks, head full of hair, chunky legs, and even your belly button has gotten normal.  And your personality is developing as well as your motor skills.

You definitely have Mrs. Xpinionated's mouth.  Mrs. Xpinionated thinks you have my nose.  Initially, most folks thought you favored me but I think that was because you didn't have any meat on your bones.  Now, it seems people think you are looking like your sexy momma....oh sorry, you probably don't want to hear that kind of thing. 

We took you to the swimming pool this past weekend.  You didn't cry, not once.....and you didn't smile, not once.  Then you promptly fell asleep in my arms at the pool.  I'm sure your momma will have you down there again and I got it on tape so we'll have to give it a gander when you're old enough.

Oh well, Daddy Xpinionated has to get back to work...you need to hurry up and get a job...love you Devin.

Forza Motorsport 2

I am engulfed.  I have long waited for this racing simulation to hit the shelves (though I may not have mentioned it here) and yesterday the game made it to my xbox360. 

My only wish is that I had a day dedicated to playing it.  No interruptions.  Just me and my little electronic friend. 

I've actually considered passing on my weekly bar trip Friday night so I could play the game......but I'm sure by the time 9pm rolls around on Friday night....I'll be singing a different tune.

Kobe's Statement on KB24.com

Technorati tags: Kb24.com, Kobe Bryant

May 30 :: 2007

The Truth: A new road ahead

Wassup y'all ...

Man, today is one of those surreal days for me and my family. When you love something as much as I love the Lakers its hard to even imagine thinking about being elsewhere. But, the ONE THING I will never sacrifice when it comes to basketball is WINNING. That is plain and simply what it's all about. It's in my DNA. It's what pushes me to work as hard as I do. It's my daily passion and pursuit.

The more I thought about the future, the more I became convinced that the Lakers and me just have two different visions for the future. The Lakers are pursuing a longer-term plan that is different from what Dr. Buss shared with me at the time I re-signed as a free agent. I have seen that plan unfold for the last three years and watched great trade opportunities come and go, and have seen free agents passed on. That has led to the Lakers not winning a playoff series. All of that was frustrating in itself, but then, this week to have someone "inside" the Laker organization try to blame me in the media for us not being a contender right now -- that is what brought me to my current position today.

I want it to be clear that I still love, with all my heart, the Laker Legacy. From Mikan to West to Goodrich to Wilt to Kareem to Magic. That will never change. And the support my family and I have gotten from Lakers fans is undeniably the best. I will also always believe that.

But, now there is a new road ahead. I am gonna keep grindin and keep workin to get back to competing for Championships. Sometimes the trek up the mountain is tough. But, I know we'll get there.

Strength and Honor,
Kobe

Kobe demands trade

First and foremost, I will remain a Lakers fan until the day that I die. 

With that said, I honestly don't have enough facts in this issue to determine if this is sour grapes or mismanagement.

All I know is that if Kobe truly wishes to leave the Lakers

after stating yesterday that he wants to retire a Laker, I have to imagine that there have been more incidents than just the LA TImes story in the past few days. 

You would think the one paper in the country that would do it's best to show the Lakers in a positive light, to squash bad vibes would be the L.A. Times....but I guess all journalist are fame seeking whores with allegiance to now one but themselves. 

If Kobe is serious, Kupchack, you better not settle for anything like the Shaquille deal.  I will never be a fan of another team...but I'll stop watching if you singlehandedly destroy this team.

"I would like to be traded, yeah. Tough as it is to come to that conclusion there's no other alternative, you know?" -- Kobe Bryant

Technorati tags: Kobe Bryant, trade, LA Lakers

LPG Tournament First Round Matchups

The Logo Division		The Magic Conference
71-72(1)		00-01(2)
Bye(64)		Bye(63)
58-59(32)		60-61(31)
05-06(36)		54-55(35)
69-70(20)		95-96(46)
91-92(47)		68-69(19)
83-84(16)		90-91(15)
66-67(51)		06-07(50)
64-65(24)		61-62(23)
80-81(43)		75-76(42)
59-60(28)		65-66(27)
56-57(39)		92-93(39)
87-88(12)		99-00(11)
57-58(56)		74-75(55)
Bye(57)		Bye(58)
79-80(8)		51-52(7)
86-87(4)		81-82(3)
Bye(61)		Bye(62)
97-98(29)		96-97(34)
89-90(33)		02-03(30)
94-95(17)		82-83(18)
77-78(44)		55-56(45)
88-89(13)		67-68(14)
73-74(48)		76-77(49)
72-73(21)		03-04(22)
98-99(40)		78-79(41)
85-86(25)		62-63(26)
70-71(37)		63-64(38)
04-05(53)		52-53(10)
01-02(9)		93-94(54)
Bye(60)		Bye(59)
84-85(5)		53-54(6)

LPG Tournament Seedings

Seed	Year	Title Perc	Playoff Perc	Reg Percentage
1	71-72	0.8	0.8	0.84
2	00-01	0.8	1	0.68
3	81-82	0.67	1	0.7
4	86-87	0.67	0.92	0.79
5	84-85	0.67	0.85	0.76
6	53-54	0.57	0.83	0.64
7	51-52	0.57	0.83	0.61
8	79-80	0.67	0.8	0.73
9	01-02	1	0.73	0.71
10	52-53	0.8	0.71	0.69
11	99-00	0.67	0.65	0.82
12	87-88	0.57	0.65	0.76
13	88-89	0	1	0.7
14	67-68	0.33	0.89	0.63
15	90-91	0.2	0.79	0.71
16	83-84	0.43	0.79	0.66
17	94-95	0.33	0.75	0.59
18	82-83	0	0.73	0.71
19	68-69	0.43	0.73	0.67
20	69-70	0.43	0.73	0.56
21	72-73	0.2	0.67	0.73
22	03-04	0.2	0.67	0.68
23	61-62	0.43	0.67	0.68
24	64-65	0.2	0.67	0.61
25	85-86	0	0.57	0.76
26	62-63	0.33	0.57	0.66
27	65-66	0.43	0.57	0.56
28	59-60	0	0.56	0.33
29	97-98	0	0.54	0.74
30	02-03	0	0.5	0.61
31	60-61	0	0.5	0.46
32	58-59	0	0.46	0.46
33	89-90	0	0.44	0.77
34	96-97	0	0.44	0.68
35	54-55	0	0.43	0.56
36	05-06	0	0.43	0.55
37	70-71	0	0.42	0.59
38	63-64	0	0.4	0.53
39	92-93	0	0.4	0.48
40	56-57	0	0.4	0.47
41	98-99	0	0.38	0.62
42	78-79	0	0.38	0.57
43	75-76	0	0	0.49
44	80-81	0	0.33	0.66
45	77-78	0	0.33	0.55
46	55-56	0	0.33	0.46
47	95-96	0	0.25	0.65
48	91-92	0	0.25	0.52
49	73-74	0	0.2	0.57
50	76-77	0	0.36	0.65
51	06-07	0	0.2	0.51
52	66-67	0	0	0.44
53	04-05	0	0	0.42
54	93-94	0	0	0.4
55	74-75	0	0	0.37
56	57-58	0	0	0.26

The End All Tournament!

A proud franchise the Lakers are.  Why?  Because they have produced some of the best teams the NBA, no, some of the best teams the sports world has ever seen.  But, you ask, which Lakers team is the best ever?   Is it the 71-72 Lakers with their unprecedented 33 game win streak?  Maybe one of the great 80's Showtime squads?  Or is it the 2000-2001 Lakers with their 15 - 1 playoff run to the championship?

Well, this summer we will find out.  Thanks to whatifsports.com, Lakers Bleeding Purple and Gold will be running the Lakers End All tournament.  Every Lakers team beginning with the 1951 season to this year's disappointing 06-07 squad will be battling it out for the title of 'LPG Best Lakers Team of All-Time'!

Tournament Setup

The earliest team in the tournament was determined based on the availability of teams in the whatifsports.com database.  Seeding was based on titles won, playoff percentage, season percentage.

Championship teams were automatically seeded in the top 12.  Based on the 69 -13 record and the 33 game winning streak, the 71-72 Lakers were given the #1 seed.  The rest of the championship teams were seeded based on playoff percentage

The non-championship teams were seeded based on playoff percentage, you know getting it done when it matters with ties broken by regular season win percentage.

The tournament bracket is based on the NCAA National Championship tournament.  With only 56 Lakers teams for this tournament, the top 8 seeds received a bye. 

The first two rounds will be a three game series with the higher seed having home court.  The sweet 16 and elite 8 will each be a five game series with the higher seed having home cart.  The final four and the championship rounds will each be a seven game series. 

Game results will be posted here including box score and selected play by plays.

 

 

Let the games begin!!!

Blameophobia

FOX Sports on MSN - MLB - Hancock's father sues over pitcher's death

So the father of the drunk driver wants to sue the bar because his son decided to drive drunk.  Oh, and there was also weed in the car that I'm sure the bar planted. 
Seriously, any death is a tragedy.  However, if a person drives drunk, with a blood alcohol level twice that of the legal limit, and ends up killing themselves, there should be a law forbidding any family, friend or other person from trying to sue the establishment that the deceased chose to drink in. 

I agree bartenders should reserve the right to stop a person from drinking when they think he's had enough.  But at the same time, are we completely relieving the drunkard of any responsibility. 

What makes this even worse is the final statement:

Dean Hancock said he has an obligation to represent the family on all issues, "including any legal actions necessary against those who contributed to the untimely and unnecessary death."

The death was untimely.  The death was unnecessary.  But the death wasn't forced upon his son.  The death was a direct result of his son's behaviour.  It's as if the father wants to completely remove any blame on his son's name.  Sir, your son drove drunk.  Very drunk.  With plans to get high later.  Despite whatever you may think, the ultimate wrong was done by your son...not the tow truck driver helping out another sober driver on the roadway, not the restaurant that your son frequented enough to become a regular, only your son is to blame.  If you think a drunk driving incident is enough to tarnish his image, your legal shenanigans only add to the blemish at the end of a young life.  Rest in peace Josh Hancock.

Day Time Commercial

Working from home today.  Got the TV on as background noise and I suddenly here a familiar voice.  Damn if it ain't Gary Coleman doing a commercial for cashcall.com.  Ever heard of cashcall.com?  Exactly.  Gary Coleman talking about 'When I needed cash right away, cashcall.com was there!'  He may still be looking for the bottom but at this point, it can't be that far away.

Technorati tags: Gary Coleman

Nude car Wash

Working at the nude carwash... | The News is NowPublic.com

Nude Car Washing

Due to drought, the residents of Brisbane were prohibited from
washing their cars. And since dirty cars can't be driven to strip
clubs, there was a dilemma. Enter the Nude Car wash, topless window
cleaning, no longer a mere daydream but a $50 service. Need full nudity
and a lap dance to settle your nerves...drop a c-note!

Which gets me to thinking...Atlanta is in a drought.....hmmm

West Semi-finals Suspensions

Let's take a different look at this situation...my 'off-the-wall-I'm-just-being-a-hater-cuz-I-hate-the-Suns' theory is as follows:  Let's not blame Amare or Boris for coming off the bench.  Let's not blame Stern for being to harsh or enforcing the rule too rigidly.  Hell, let's not even blame Horry for the hip check.  Instead,  let's blame Steve Nash.  That's right, I said it.  Blame Nash.  See, Nash in the offseason plays soccer.  If there is a sport that does more acting when trying to draw a call from an official more than basketball, it's soccer.   Perhaps if Nash would not have flopped, his sidekicks wouldn't have left the bench and we would be talking about Game 5 purely based on the expectations instead of talking about the fallout of Game 4.  Though, many are calling it a wrap for the Spurs now, remember the Suns were shorthanded in Game 6 last year and down 3-2 to the Lakers and came out with a victory....granted it was Bitchilistic Bell which isn't nearly a big a loss as Diaw is much less Amare.   But still....

BLAME IT ON FLOPPING....THE LEAGUE HAS SO MUCH POTENTIAL ONCE FLOPPING CAN BE CONTROLLED.

Technorati tags: Steve Nash, Robert Horry, Amare Stoudemire, Boris Diaw, San Antonio Spurs, Phoenix Suns, NBA, Playoffs, David Stern

Proof

What a lot of folks don't realize about arguing with me is that 8 times out of 10, when I say something I can provide the proof within 10 minutes(provided I have network connection handy). 

I remember when a sports argument, or any argument for that matter, relied on at the very least equal parts opinion and fact.  Nowadays, opinion is fact.  In bars across the country, people are considered guilty based simply on accusation.  People base entire arguments on 'I heard...' without doing a lick of research on their own despite the unprecedented availability of information today. 

Just keep in mind though, if you're going to argue something with me...come very correct, thorough, and prepared....for if you don't, I'll eat you and your lazy ass opinion alive.....I'm not out to convince you that I'm right...I'm out to convince you that you're wrong!

Taylor makes practice

I love Sean Taylor.  I do.  And being a Va Tech alum, that's hard for me to say with him being a former Hurricane (do you have to graduate to be considered an alum?).  And Sean doesn't make it easy to love him with his legal troubles and occasional on the field antics.  Of course, the biggest hurdle for me was when I took the leap to buy his jersey as my first Redskins jersey and he went and changed his number making my brand new jersey an instant throwback.  It's all good, I should have known there was a reason it was twenty bucks on eBay.

Anyway, I liked the way he made reference to his legal issues without saying his legal issues when being quoted about missing the first couple of voluntary practices....

Every year I'm trying to show up here more and more...It helps the team. The last couple of years I've been kind of busy with certain issues. I finally have those in the past and I'm working on getting ahead.

Technorati tags: Washington Redskins, Sean Taylor

Retire the Thug Description (or how Woody Harrelson is a black male athlete)

It's time to retire 'ghetto thug' in sports circles to describe every black athlete that gets in the slightest bit of trouble.

Let's dissect the use of thug.  Thug is defined as (according to dictionary.com):

A cruel or vicious ruffian, robber, or murderer.

Very few of the many athletes that have been called thugs fit the definition above.  Further, all of the athletes that are labeled thug are black.  Coincidence?

The major conflict between sports and their fans, in football and basketball, is that the fan base majority is white but the player base majority is black.  The black athletes that successfully manage this line are the players that do not strike at the base fear of the 'angry black man'.  David Robinson, Tim Duncan, and Michael Jordan come to mind.

See, the black athlete is in an interesting position.  His entire life he's been a black male.  Not to feed into stereotypes but chances are he lived a hip hop culture (which is not necessarily a gangsta shoot em up world).  Now he is placed in the public eye and the public eye is often anti-hip hop. But this is another post for another time.

The main focus is that we as fans need to realize that often thug is an inaccurate description used to imply not only undesired behavior but also ethnicity or race.  Perhaps you're thinking I'm throwing out the race card here but please consider this:  when a white player rushes the mound in a baseball game, said player is not called  a thug.  Hockey players fight nightly yet thug is never used as a character description.  Or even better, Kyle Turley throws his helmut and generally acts cruel and vicious during a game.....and thug is never in the reports.

On the other hand, Mike Vick throws a middle finger (not condoning his action) and he becomes a thug.  Oddly enough, there are no notable situations before this middle finger which would lead to being called thug.  In fact, Mike Vick gets called a thug because of his brother's antics.  Let's scope this out a bit further....Woody Harrelson's father spent the last years of his life in jail for murder, in fact Charles Harrelson was a freelance hitman. Now using the same logic that makes Mike Vick a thug, how should we refer to Woody given his actual violent outburst?

Technorati tags: Thug, Mike Vick, Woody Harrelson, black males, athletes

Tickled by Road Rage

So on my daily trek to work, this elderly lady runs a red light making a right turn in front of me.  As I close on her, she decides that she would also like to be in the left lane.  I had started to change lanes to pass her so with her driver side front already in the left lane, she decides to look in the mirror to see if it is clear to change lanes.  By this time, I am already halfway in the lane and just about ready to overtake her so she swerves back into the right lane.  My tricky middle finger has started to make it's way to the sunroof so I couldn't stop it before I realized it was an elderly lady (not sure that knowledge would have stopped it, some old women can be mean as the dickens!).  At the same time, she STICKS HER TONGUE OUT AT ME!  Wow.  She still caught the finger but in hindsight I could only chuckle...the old lady stuck her tongue out at me!

Technorati tags: road rage, tongue, old lady

My Boy Has That Something Something

So this past Friday, Devin was under the gentle care of his nana.  Lately, the past month or so, Devin has taken to having his fingers instead of his pacifier to suck on.  Well, apparently he missed his fingers by a couple of inches and sucked on his wrist/forearm Friday.  So much so that he left a hickie on his arm.. . . . . . that's my boy!!!  He's gonna be a terror on some girl's neck come high school!!!

Classic Arcade Gaming

Mmmm, my gamer roots are ablaze with new found (for me anyway) ways to play all those beautiful atari 2600, Commodore 64, etc games. 

For those less geeky and technically savvy folks out there, our geek (remember when geek was an insult) friends have created emulators for these old but glorious consoles.  Emulators basically mimic the hardware these old games ran on so that you can run them on your current laptop or PC.  In some cases, you can even run Super Nintendo games on a Sega Dreamcast (according to a friend of mine, I haven't done this myself but sounds like an interesting Saturday project). 

I love this.  I spent nearly an hour playing 10 yard fight last night on my laptop with my wife quizzically wondering what I was doing and why?  I think tonite, after grass cutting of course, I will try to get a commodore 64 emulator so I can revisit California Games! 

Technorati tags: Emulators, Commodore 64, Atari, Classic Arcade, MAME

Nash Photo

Not kissing that bicep now are ya little man????

Unheard of Awards

Technorati tags: Joss Stone, Sexy, Vegetarian, PETA, awards

I was looking through a photo gallery of the Joss Stone concert at the Tabernacle in Atlanta Thursday night.  With each photo, there of course was a caption.  One caption states:

Joss Stone often performs barefoot. She was voted the World's Sexiest Vegetarian in 2005 by PETA, alongside Coldplay's Chris Martin.

Who knew PETA could take the time out from it's incessant battles against us meat hungry animal beaters to pick out a sexy vegetarian.....

Flashback

I recently gave Xpinionated as a gift and I thought "When was the last time I looked over some of my older posts?"  So I started scanning and realized, I'm pretty damn funny.  I can't quite explain what I was thinking when I wrote everything that is here but I read it and still chuckle....giggle even. 

So I am pledging to make a much stronger effort to get back to writing.  I also plan to do some advertising/marketing and get the readership up if at all possible.  Also, the return of the Xpinionated Shop will be coming soon with more than just a single design....