San Fran Zoo Riot

So I just saw a local news report regarding the lion attack at the San Francisco zoo.  Sad indeed.  Of course, Xpinionated's spin is slightly different.  Listening to the police spokesman, she said that the lion had killed one person was standing over another injured person, and yet another injured zoo visitor lay nearby.  The police. . . .yelled... at the lion as an attempt to get it to leave the injured person it was cowering over alone.  Now, if I'm standing over a body and don't freeze when the police expect me to freeze, I could easily catch three warning shots in the back.   Yet an animal is yelled at.  A wild animal with a history of human attacks is yelled at.  Further proof that this country is more lenient with animals than with humans.....

Technorati tags: Lion Attack, San Francisco Zoo

The State of Kobe Hating

Ya wanna know how bad the Kobe hating has gotten?   Scott Skiles was recently relieved of his duties as the coach of the Chicago Bulls.  A poll by foxsports.com poses the question 'Who is to blame for the Bulls poor season start?  38% say GM Jim Paxson, 27% say Kobe Bryant.   What kind of freaking sense does that make?

Hip Hop Blasphemy

I am about to commit what can probably be considered hip hop blasphemy.  I intend to hurt no one's feelings, nor disrespect the deceased.  If I had any loyal readers, I imagine saying this could spark off a comment fusillade.  Eh, don't have to worry about that though...so here goes.

The Notorious BIG aka Biggie Smalls aka Christopher Wallace was not that great of a rapper.  There I said it.  Let's think about it, he had two albums, both pretty good but both only had one or two songs that can be considered classics.  Further, when you truly listen to his lyrics, he isn't saying much.  Outside of great storytelling, there is no message, no fire, nothing that makes you think 'What did he mean by that?' 

Don't get me wrong, I like BIG.  Enjoy his music still.  But I was thinking when I heard Lil Kim or Foxy --one of those hookers -- rap 'Big comes first then the cream comes after.'  And I thought, I don't think Biggie Smalls would make my top 5 Hip Hop hall of fame.  

2Pac would be number 1 due to his ability to have a message in his lyrics from 2Paclypse Now all the way to Machiavelli.   Eminem would be number 2 due to raw ability.  I have yet to see Em lose a freestyle battle -- which in my opinion shows much more in terms of lyrical skills.  In the same vein that BIG isn't really saying anything, Em doesn't either.  However, Em says nothing so cleverly ferociously that I can look past the lack of PSA.  Not to mention both 2Pac and EM put out more than two albums.  Slick Rick would represent some of the old school at number 3.  Great storytelling without the use of egregious language or unnecessary sexual references, along with a sense of humor puts MC Ricky D at the three spot.  At number 4, Gangstarr.  Just a personal favorite of mine.  Lyrically capable, independent sound.  Lastly, at number 5, Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everybody....KRS-One.  The man tells stories, is socially conscious, and has covered years of hip hop without 'getting caught up'. 

I think a big factor in BIG's perceived greatness is due to New York's influence on hip-hop.  Though much of hip-hop's origins lie in New York, it's not necessarily the capital of hip-hop anymore.  Nor can any other part of the country claim that title.  Hip Hop has transcended geographical locations.  With that said, the perception of New York as the birth land of rap gives undue credence to anything or anyone coming out of the area.  As such, if Biggie put out the same exact albums and led the same exact life but was from Milwaukee instead of New York, I don't think he'd be thrown in the greatest of all time debate. 

Oh well, I added some Technorati tags to see if we can't get some readership and comments going.  Maybe I'll even throw this out on Helium.com

Technorati tags: Biggie Smalls, 2Pac, KRS-One, Gangstarr, Eminem, Slick Rick, Hip Hop, Biggie ain't the Best

Kobe Happy?

After the turmoil of the Kobe-capades this summer, is Kobe Bryant happy?  It would appear so as the Lakers sit at 15 - 9, fourth in the talented Western conference.

"This [Lakers'] team is the closest I've ever been on," Bryant said. "I feel we have a bond as a group. There are no cliques. We all hang out together. I'm happy with it."

"With trades, you never know what's going to happen," said Bryant, whom Lakers insiders say hasn't mentioned being traded since the Bulls talks ended. "I'm happy to be playing and not caught up in the business. It becomes too difficult for me to be involved. I don't have that great education, so I can't handle that type of stuff. My high school education just can't get it done."

As you may remember, a certain Lakers fan stated that should the Lakers get off to a good start, perhaps Mamba would change his tune.  I don't want to jinx anything and Kobe may not have changed his tune entirely, but he has muted it for the time being!

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In other observations, I haven't been able to see as many games this year due to circumstances but looking at the box scores I can't but be happy about Sasha's progress this season.  In fact, big kudos to our entire bench and all the youngsters showing up in ways bigger than expected.  Baby boy Bynum is doing his part to prove that Lakers management got it right by keeping him.  Turiaf continues to bring the necessary energy to bring life to the game at any given moment.  Farmar continues to improve, D. Fish leads by example, and V.Rad is playing like we expected when he was acquired. 

Getting excited.....

Best Thing About the Denver Game

Allen Iverson scorched us for 51 points in a loss last night and he reminded me of how he was back when we were in high school at Bethel.  Unstoppable.  But this ain't the high school game, one man doesn't often win a game in the NBA and such was the case last night.  The Lakers won 111-107.  Bigger than the team victory is the fact that we have already won the season series with Denver should that come into play for playoff seeding.

BCS Respect Waning, Waning, Woeful

LSU will be taking on Ohio State in the National Championship game this year.  This is what the BCS system has come up.  These teams are considered the best that this country has to offer. 

Of course, if any of you reading this have perused before, you know that I'm partial to Virginia Tech, being an alum and all.  I spent a good part of yesterday watching my Redskins give up a heartbreaker (17-16) to the Bills; but in the back of my mind, I was slowly trying to build a case for why the Hokies have earned (a key word here) a chance to play for the big pretty sparkly football.  By the time, the BCS Selection had started, I had actually convinced myself, or maybe just got my hopes up really really high, that the 'experts' would see that Va Tech is as deserving of a National Championship if not more so. 

Needless to say, I was disappointed.  At first, it was just disappointment born of my own blown-out-of-proportion hopes.  Then the internet trolling began....what's that you say?   The computers have ranked Virginia Tech first in 4 out of 6 computer tallies?  But the humans showed no love, no respect?  Disappointment has slowly marinated into anger at this point. 

So let's go through some things in regards to Va Tech's argument to be in the National Championship game -- and what better place to start with than our two losses.

@ #2 LSU - Week 2 - LSU soundly beat the Hokies 48-7.  There is no denying that.  The Hokies came in with an inexperienced and injury riddled offensive line, a qb with growing confidence but easily rattled, and an atmosphere rarely replicated anywhere else.  The perfect storm for just such a blowout.  Given that, the Tigers may have played their best game this year that night.  That, for all the talk of SEC superiority, has been their statement game this season.  They have simply looked like a good to very good team since that game.   Virginia Tech has improved week in and week out.   An early season loss is rarely used as the validation for keeping a team out of the national title hunt...but this year, as I will soon prove, is all the human voters have.

@ #2 BC - Week 8 - The Boston College Eagles strode into Lane Stadium as one of the hottest teams in the country.  For 53 minutes and 59 seconds, the Virginia Tech Hokies put them in their place.  A breakdown physically, mentally, and strategically led to a 14 - 10 loss to BC at Lane Stadium.  Though an interesting game, what is more interesting is the number of stories last week -- before the ACC Championship game, a rematch of BC-VT -- that made note of the implications of that game.  Essentially, had VT won that rainy Thursday night, the ACC Championship game would have been VT playing to get in the National Championship game.  With that being said, the Hokies showed that they were indeed better than Boston College with a win in the ACC Championship game. 

So that begs the question:  If Va Tech would have been in the Championship  game if they had won in October and they avenged that loss in the Conference title game, why exactly are they not going to the National Championship game?  Ah, the answer lies in hypocrisy my dear fellow.  Apparently, simple logic is not at play.  If you say a win at BC in mid-season is enough to make you forgot a week 2 loss, then it would be fair to say that a win against BC in a title game should make the pollsters forget about a week 2 loss, correct?  Chew on that, I'ma move on.

OSU vs LSU -  I firmly believe neither of these teams deserve this shot.  LSU has been ranked number one twice this season and managed to lose that standing twice -- including once to an unranked team.  Do you think pollsters would be as sympathetic to a team they hadn't picked as their preseason favorite?  LSU is a remarkably talented team.  But let's face it, they haven't gotten any better since that week in September.  And quite frankly, they've been pretty lucky a few times as well.  OSU, well, I hate to join the cacophony of Buckeyes haters, but their strength of schedule is ridiculously unimpressive.  I know I know, they should be penalized because other members of their conference can't keep up.  But what about their non-conference slate:  Youngstown St, Akron, Wash, and Kent State.  I hear you Bucks fans with the 'they schedule years in advance'.  But be real with yourselves, years ago your athletic director knew that Youngstown (Div I AA), Akron, and Kent State were not going to be powerhouses!  And quite frankly, with a loss to an unranked Illini team, I'm not sure you earned a trip to the big one.  Who is your keynote win?  Where was your statement game?

And LSU fans, for all the talk of SEC superiority, LSU's opponents' win - loss record (91 wins to 67 losses) is exactly one game better than VT's (90 wins to 68 losses).  And the Ohio State university can't even be included in this analysis as their opponents win-loss tally is 73 - 71 -- and that includes Div I AA Youngstown State's 7-4 mark which means your DIV I win-loss ratio would 66 wins to 67 losses.

So with all that said, who do I think should be in the National Championship game?  I believe it should be Virginia Tech vs Oklahoma.  I am a fan of winning your conference championship in order to play for a National championship. It's as simple as that.  There's the ACC, SEC, Big 12, and some smaller conferences with the courage to have their conference champion be declared on a neutral field.  LSU reppin' the SEC is out for reasons stated above.  That leaves Va Tech and the Sooners to battle it out.

Outside looking in?

Congratulations to the 2007 ACC Champion Virginia Tech Hokies.  The Hokies, playing for the ACC crown for the third time in their four year membership of the ACC, defeated the Boston College Eagles 30 - 16 in what many of us in the Hokie family considered a revenge game.  Earlier in the season, BC completed in improbable Thursday night comeback to beat Tech in the 'burg 14 - 10.  As the Tech mantra was for the entire week -- 'A minor setback for a major comeback' -- the Hokies showed heart and determination after being manhandled for much of the first half.

From a broader perspective, VT had a slim, very very slim, chance at possibly playing in the National Championship.  All they needed was for #1 Missouri to lose to favorite #9 Oklahoma, #2 West Virginia to lose to unranked and lowly Pitt, and, to a smaller extent, Tennessee to upset #7 LSU......we got two out of three.  Missouri was no match for Oklahoma for the second time this season.  West Virginia scored it's lowest total of the season in an embarrasing 13 - 9 loss to the 4 or 5 win Panthers in the Backyard Brawl.  LSU did beat Tennessee, but not nearly as convincingly as some would have thought. 

So now we have a conundrum in the BCS.  Most do not dispute Ohio State getting in.  They are #3 with a fairly weak schedule and one loss as the only real chink in their armor.  After that, the picture gets pretty muddy.  Georgia as the number 4 team is hoping the BCS operates as it has promoting in a direct line which would make them number 2.  I oppose that not only because I'm not a Georgia fan, but also because they didn't win their division much less their conference.  Of course, the more bullheaded Dawgs fans claim they were 'co-champions' of their division, a joke to all but UGA fans.  So after number 4, you have Kansas.  Kansas was a surprise one loss team this year, although once they played a reputable team they were not nearly as successful. Also, no conference or even division championship for Kansas.  Though there is no specific rule that says a team must win it's conference in order to play for a National Championship, I personally feel that a National champion that doesn't win their conference cheapens the whole process.  Many folks argue that there have been Super bowl champions that didn't win their conference -- but they have a playoff!  After Kansas, we have the Hokies.  Conference champions.  Two losses both to teams ranked number two in the country at the time the game was played.  The real chink in our armor is the 48-7 loss to LSU early in the second week of the season.  It was a horrible loss, but we are nothing like that team in September.  In fact, I would love the chance to play LSU again, especially in a neutral site.  Speaking of LSU, their are the layman's pick to jump to number two.  Given that they won their conference, and have only lost games in multi-OT games many believe they should catapult to the number two spot. 

I believe it should be either LSU or VT.  Trying to be objective, I understand that LSU has had the tougher schedule and they did beat Va Tech -- in Death Valley on a Saturday Night; one of the toughest venues in the country.  However, LSU also lost to unranked Arkansas (last week!) and a Kentucky team that didn't pan out as being as good as originally thought.  Virginia Tech, on the other hand, has lost to BC in a nail biter that they easily should have won.  In fact, if not for a complete meltdown in the last 6 minutes of that game, Virginia Tech could likely be looking at a number one or two ranking...no controversy.    If shoulda coulda woulda......In any case, Kansas and Georgia with no conference championship to their names, should not be playing in the National Championship.

Handed to us

The Jazz handed us our asses last night.  52 points in the paint -- at halftime.  Yeah, the Lakers had 51 points total at halftime.  Every loose ball, every rebound, every bounce went their way.  Out-hustled, out-played, and out-skilled.  My hats off to the Jazz for their play.

Now, you know I wasn't going to post without some kind of complaint about last night.  After all, I usually post when something's bothering me.  The Jazz fans booed Derek Fisher last night.  I'm assuming they felt slighted that D.Fish wanted out of his contract with Utah over the summer.  Normally, booing a player asking to be released would be acceptable.  But Fish didn't leave because of normal player boohooing - he left to find better care for his daughter.  How a group of fans can put their basketball team -- their title-less basketball team (not that that makes a difference, just an opp for a cheap shot; like the one Jazz fans delivered last night) -- above a player caring for his daughter is beyond me.