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....

Steve Harvey and NASCAR

Yahoo! Movies: Movie News -

Well, that had to be uncomfortable. First, half the people probably don't even know who you are. Second, you're in a suit at a jeans and t-shirt event. And last, ain't Nascar where white folks go to get away from black folks....we already took golf away....

Miami Loses!!

Picture this, Virginia Tech runs the table for the rest of the season and they have won the ACC. With Miami's loss today, Va Tech controls it's own fate.

But winning out is not going to be a simple task by any means. Before Saturday's games, I would have said the easiest game would be in Chapel Hill next week. But with UNC's upset victory over Miami, even that game cannot be overlooked. The Hokies finish their season (their 12 game season by the way) against the aforementioned UNC in Chapel Hill, Maryland in Blacksburg on Thursday night, Virginia on Thanksgiving weekend in Blacksburg, and finish up with a trip to Miami for the season finale quite possibly with the conference title and guaranteed BCS bowl bid on the line.

On a tangent, Va Tech could arguably be undefeated if it weren't for two plays. It's not often you can look at two plays so distinctly and argue that the season could have been changed so dramatically.

• 1) The absolutely horrible offensive pass interference call in the first game against USC. Hokies up 10 - 7 and the field position (and momentum) change dramatically for the worse.
• 2) The missed field goal against N.C. State that would have been the game winner (although it never should have come down to a winning field goal attempt if the punter doesn't just drop the ball in the third quarter).

Let's hope that Frank Beamer can get this team to do the unexpected in what was supposed to be a 'down' year for the Hokies. And let's really hope that his playcalling changes offensively....more on that later.....

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Final Score 34 - 20

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GT fans are slowly coming to the realization that the real 'Tech' doesn't reside in Georgia....

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Not looking good at halftime...but ya gotta keep the faith....

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Hokie Nation loud and proud. There was also a pretty solid section of Hokies fan sitting where the visiting band would sit.

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Va Tech's first play from scrimmage after a squib\onside kick attempt. Ga Tech kicked squib kicks for the entire first half so I'm not really sure if the opening kickoff was intended as an onside kick or what.

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Here come the HOKIES!!!!

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Stretching it out....

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The scoreboard about an hour before the game. We got there a little early since we both work downtown. I wanted to find a local watering hole so I could tweak my sobriety but to no avail. Ended up with coke, smoked sausage and cotton candy....

ThatColoredFellasweblog.bloghorn.com

ThatColoredFellasweblog.bloghorn.com

He expresses my opinion of pop music better than I ever could....well maybe not better but still damn nice writing....

First the Olsen Twins, Now eBay: T-Shirt Hell.com Told to Cease and Desist Selling Their New Christopher Reeve T-Shirt

First the Olsen Twins, Now eBay: T-Shirt Hell.com Told to Cease and Desist Selling Their New Christopher Reeve T-Shirt

I love this website even if I don't agree with most of their T-shirts. But their response to corporations in this press release is hilarious......

What A Game!!!

I'm still flowing off adrenaline right now. That was an amazing game. The Hokies played with my emotion for nearly 4 hours last night on their way to a 34 - 20 win over a game Georgia Tech team. The story in this one is the Virginia Tech passing game!

Wait, did I just say passing game? In the same sentence with Virginia Tech? 305 yards worth of 'Yes I did'. Against a very good GT defense, the Hokies amassed 445 yards of offense.

Further analysis and pictures will appear throughout the weekend as I gather my thoughts....everything is still racing right now!

Just one break

Yahoo! Sports - NFL - Redskins rookie Taylor arrested on drunken driving charge

Is that too much to ask for? I mean, stop the madness. Dude has an 18 million dollar contract.....get a damn driver....and what are you doing drunk on a Tuesday night????

Drawn Together

Sitting here watching Drawn Together on Comedy Central....should be doing other things but they aren't as much fun as wasting time is....Procrastination is a helluva drug, helluva drug

Is anyone else bothered by Spongebob Squarepants? Something about the whole phenomena bothers me....can't quite put my finger on exactly why it bothers me but it definitely rubs me the wrong way....

I've been very moody lately. It's kind of scary...I don't know exactly why but ....yeah

Old People

I tried to kill an old man today.

I was minding my business in my usual hour and a half morning commute (it's only 30 miles, but it is Atlanta). I'm sitting at the light to turn left. Light go green, me go cuz it's a leading green. Luxury UV across the way decides red light means he can turn right...he cuts the wrong commuter off. I hit my 'you're a stupid ass' horn. He's startled....guess he wasn't expectin' that. He turns right into a strip mall and flips me off. Wow! You cut me off and then flip me the finger for not taking kindly to you cutting me off. Cool, except that he didn't even have the balls to look me in the face when he flipped me the bird. SO he turns, I decide, 'Bump that' and I turn at the next entry into the strip mall. At this time, I have no idea what I'm planning to do...but I know I almost hit a different old man...an innocent one in the crosswalk. I spot the Luxury UV at a drive through cleaners....I may have skidded right up beside him....He's startled and baffled this time because he never looked at me so he doesn't know why I have run up on him like this.....I curse him, flip him off while lookin' him squarely in the eye, then proceed to spin my tires to show my disgust at how immature an 80 year old man can be....

Now I know my actions weren't mature either....but I wasn't in the wrong.....and I'm not 80 so hopefully I have time to learn better...he should have known better....

Why we need another quarterback!

QB Mark Brunell is looking to climb out of his season-long slump this week when Washington plays the Packers. Brunell ranks dead last in the conference in completion percentage (51.2) and average gain (5.43 yards).

Xavier Davis
Voice Team Vantive Support
Aon Consulting
404-264-3061

Why a QB change is necessary

QB Mark Brunell is looking to climb out of his season-long slump this week when Washington plays the Packers. Brunell ranks dead last in the conference in completion percentage (51.2) and average gain (5.43 yards). (Quoted from CBS Sportsline)

A quarterback change should be at the forefront of the coach's mind when your qb is having 'a season-long slump'. It is almost a necessity when you see the stats behind the slump!

BoSox and Underdog Bandwagons!!

This society is severely flawed. We love to build something or someone up and then once they reach a certain point, we revel in their collapse. This is particularly true in sports. We hope for, we pray for a dynasty, but if that dynasty lasts too long then it's all about rooting against. Prime example: the number of people that have suddenly become Boston Red Sox fans (and Patriots fans as well but we'll get to that in a different post).

Suddenly, everybody wants Boston to win it because they haven't won it 85 years. Well, let me spit on that a little bit.

1) They have consistently choked for 85 years. No curse of the bambino. That's childish denial for our team chokes. If your team chokes for 85% of a century, they deserve whatever they get. I will not, in fact, I loathe the idea of rooting for them because they haven't won in 85 years. Hell, there are some teams that have never won.

2) Rooting for the underdog doesn't make sense. If you're not a fan of either team, then just watch the game (I refuse to refer to baseball as a sport) for the enjoyment you receive from the game. Don't lose your credibility as a sports fan with bandwagon bullshit! Irag was an underdog against the U.S., are you secretly hoping they win the war??? No? Then what's your fascination with underdogs?

3) I digress a little here just so I can expound on severe dislike of Boston sports not because of the teams themselves but because of their fans. I'm a passionate fan for the teams in my sidebar. Have I ever wanted to fight someone because of their lack of support for my teams??!?! No. But my time in Boston led me to the conclusion that they are the ABSOLUTE WORST FANS ANYWHERE!!!

I sincerely hope Boston loses, not because St. Louis is the underdog...but because their fans don't deserve it!

Excellent Article

Check this out. Lakers are not down and far from out. Thanks to the sportsrant.com forums for pointing this out to a brotha.....

Lyfe Jennings

HOTT! This CD is off the chain in a ridiculous way. The entire CD is one story with an explanation between each song which acts as a transition between one chapter in Lyfe's life. I picked it up for no particular reason other than I'm pretty damn tired of radio airplay B.S. I wasn't sure if it was gonna be hip hop or R&B especially since Lyfe definitely has the thug life going on. But this cat can sing! It's been a long time since I had the words for the songs in front of me and tried to sing along. Definitely check this CD out....

I also bought Jean Grae, female lyrical artist. Haven't decided how I feel about it yet? There are some things have caught my attention like when I first bought Bahamadia but I have to give it another listen.

I also bought Mos Def's new CD. It's in the car deck now...I'm on the fence right now with that one too.

Lastly, (yeah I went a little crazy at Best Buy last night), I copped Anthony Hamilton. Liked it through the first eight songs are so but then started to tune it out. Not necessarily because of the music but it just happened.

Thursday Night!!

Yours truly will be in attendance as the Hokies meet Ga Tech at Bobby Dodd stadium. The game will be televised on ESPN's Thursday night football. I can't wait...I don't even know if my seats are particularly good but I will be trying to bring the feel of the game to the website (provided I bring my camera which I have a horrible habit of forgetting for key events).

This game scares me a little bit. It seems as if the Yellow Jackets are up again down again and that always makes them a dangerous team. Add to that, a national TV audience on a Thursday night and anything is possible.

But what scares me most is this is the time of the year the Hokies tend to struggle most, at least in years past. Granted most of that was due to a sudden uptick in level of competition but it still is a cause for concern for me.

My Prediction: Va Tech will continue with the ball control offense hopefully getting big games out of Imoh and Randall. The X-factor in this game may be the Hokies ability to contain this Ga Tech offense. They haven't exploded yet andlet's hope that is still the case come Friday morning. Hokies 27, Ga Tech 14.

Lakers 117, Seattle 91

Surprise surprise! Mr. Talk a lot but Not Play a Lot Ray Allen missed last night's preseason matchup due to a sore lower back. Strange how that worked out after talking freely to the media not too long ago. Wonder how many times he's going to manage to be hurt when it's time for the Lake Show.....

My Own Eyes (with Liquor Goggles)

So I did make it to my local watering hole to watch the game Thursday night. But I got sidetracked through most of it by the local waitresses and various shots. I promise better coverage during the actual season!!

Arrington Hurt Again

Some players in professional sports are just not meant to be healthy. Grant Hill, Ken Griffey Jr., and apparently Lavar Arrington.

Up Next: The Packers

Great...leave it to Dallas to bend over the Redskins again!!! I didn't want Dallas to win, but putting up some kind of challenge could have kept the damaged confidence of the Green Bay Packers at a low. But instead, the Cowboys roll over, let Green Bay embarass them and at the same time provide momentum for a team that was desperately seeking some kind of season altering performance.

Good News though, Mr Arrington is expected back after missing the past four games with a knee injury. How effective he will be is yet to be determined but it's good to have him back nonetheless.

Right now, I have two questions going into this game and the rest of the season. 1) How long before Coach Gibbs benches Mark Brunell especially if he plays anything like he has so far this year? 2) Can our defense keep up this pace that it has set so far...particularly with regards to third down percentage where they have stopped the opponent almost 77% of the time?

Excerpt From an Article

This is from an article I read about Brian Cook.

-Too smart for that: As part of a line of questioning about Divac's acclimation to Tomjanovich's system, a television reporter suggested to Divac that the Lakers were "used to playing with a center who didn't run the court," quite obviously referring to O'Neal.

The normally extroverted Divac, who has feuded with O'Neal, stumbled for a response.

"I don't speak English," Divac finally said with a wide smile.

Hee hee hee

With My Own Eyes

I will hopefully get to see the new era of the Los Angeles Lakers tonite against Golden State. My normal watering hole for the games is a sports is a sports bar called Jeffrey's in Suwanee, Ga. Suwanee is for all intents and purposed the northern end of the metro Atlanta area. It's the last exit before the interstate becomes a 4 lane roller coaster instead of 8 lanes. Anyway, normally this bar has every Lakers game due to their ability to get any and all Fox sports channels. Unfortunately, Fox Sports doesn't carry all preseason games as I found out rather rudely last week.

I expect to see a lot of energy on the floor and a faster paced team. I don't know what to expect as far as team chemistry. That kind of bothers me but at least I know we have youth now and a fastbreak is not out of the question.

Tune in tomorrow for my analysis. But I must admit, there is a good chance I won't see the entire game due to this being my bachelor party weekend and friends and booze and stripper ladies...you know how it goes....

Now that's a camera phone

Ok, this camera phone is no joke. This is the kind of camera phone I'd be willing to walk around the mall and be a pervert with. A 5 megapixel camera phone with true color LCD screen (16.7 million colors), that's fire!!!

Who says?

Can anyone tell me exactly why shit, fuck, and damn are curse words? At what point in human history did soceity decide that we don't like those words. I don't believe there is any biblical reasons behind the condemning of these words. I would look it up myself (and may still after my bachelor party weekend concludes) but I'm at work right now.

I find it odd that we call these bad words when they are actually some of the most flexible, understood words in language. Each of these words can be used singularly or in sentences conveying happiness, sadness, or shock. Yet, they are the bad words. If these words were more accepted, perhaps we would not work so diligently at creating slang such as the notoriously '80's fad of bad being good (must use the Run DMC line now: Not bad meaning bad but bad meaning good).

I'm off to ponder....

It's one of my favorite times of the year!!! Monopoly at McDonald's!!!

Please feel free to send me any unused monopoly pieces....

It appears that I am having some difficulty with the commenting feature. I will try to rectify as soon as possible.

ACC Divisions Announced

Yesterday, the ACC announced it's football divisions for 2005-2006. Surprisingly, the divisions are called the Atlantic and the Coastal....whole lot of originality there! Below is the breakdown of the divisions:

Atlantic

• Maryland
• Clemson
• NC State
• Wake Forest
• Boston College
• Florida State

Coastal

• Virginia Tech
• Miami
• Virginia
• Duke
• North Carolina
• Georgia Tech

As a Hokie, you gotta love this division. You get to play UVA and Miami every year so your rivalries continue without the blasphemy of playing every other year. Plus, you get Duke!!!! Nothing says victory like Duke Football!

Lakers Crush Weary Kings 105 -80

Two days after ballin' it up in China, the Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings met in a preseason matchup in Fresno. Jet lag kept playing time down for the Kings as they were steamrolled 105 - 80. Surprising stat of the game, Kobe Bryant had only 10 points in 33 minutes of effort along with 5 & 5 assists & rebounds.

Leading the scoring were newcomers Caron Butler and Chris Mihm with 18 and 17 respectively. Brian Cook also had 17 as five Lakers scored in double figures.

I must say that, although this is only preseason, I like what I'm hearing from this team so far. I haven't had the ability to see them yet due to the lack of TV coverage for preseason games but there seems to be an energy about these Lakers that may be taken for granted once the regular season comes around. One thing I've noticed so far in what I've read is that Kobe appears to be enjoying himself quite a bit as well as talking quite a bit of trash as that has been mentioned a few times in the three games the Lakers have played thus far. More power to him, it's time we change our reputation. We're a younger, more athletic team now and it should be a lot of fun to watch.

It's amazing how many blogs are dedicated to just the presidential election....wonder what the authors are going to do when the election is over????

Finally something that made me smile today...in my daily job listing email I ran across the following

Title: Penetration Tester
Skills: Penetration Tester

Date: 10-19-2004
Location: Atlanta, GA
Area code: 404

Tax term: FULLTIME
Pay rate: Market
Length: Perm

Position ID: 15596
Dice ID: 10109755

Something isn't right in my world. I can't seem to stay in a good mood for any extended period of time unless I've been drinking. I think part of it is not being particularly happy with the ol' jobby job. But there's something else and I can't put my finger on it.

I need to find another source of income. I became very accustomed to the kind of money made as a contract worker. Yeah, now I have benefits but I only go for medical attention a couple times a year if that. And with the money I was making before, I could afford to pay for the treatments. Now, I feel like I'm always broke and I hate that feeling.

I hate getting out of the bed in the morning just so I can sit in traffic. I bet that if I would have had to drive through Atlanta traffic when I first moved to Atlanta, I probably wouldn't have stayed here. I mean it is almost impossible to have a good start to your weekday when you have to sit in traffic like this. I have a plan for that though.

People should have assigned departure times from their homes. If you miss your departure time, you have to wait an hour or two. Too bad so sad. OR, corporate America should allow employees to arrive at their leisure. This way, employees who have no obligation to leave their abodes early ie kids or something can come in a little later and stay a little later. It works for all parties involved because Corporate America gets to extend it's workday and employees are less stressed with traffic concerns......

Vick Suspension - Good For the Hokies

Often times, living in die hard SEC country, I am looked at as an anomaly when my local sports bar patrons discover that I am a Virginia Tech fan and alumni. Immediately after finding out, I am asked one of two questions: 1) What is a Hokie; and 2) What do ya think of Vick's brother?

Well as we all know a Hokie is a fighting gobbler which is a stronger, meaner, nastier version of a turkey. But you will never eat a Hokie on Thanksgiving, keep that in mind!

As far as Marcus Vick (some folks here in Ga don't even know his first name, he's just Vick's brother), I personally am ecstatic that he was suspended for the year. I'm not happy about the reasons he was suspended but I am rather pleased that his suspension has and will continue to have on the Hokies.

Last year, there were several games that I think we lost due to Beamer going with a two quarterback system. That does not work. It never has and more than likely never will. There were multiple times where Bryan Randall was playing a pretty good game, the Hokies were in control, and then Beamer mysteriously decides to put Vick in. The result? Rhythm is thrown off, and Mr. Momentum changes his address.

With this being Randall's senior year (in football, he's actually a graduate student academically), it is only appropriate that he get to play the game outside of a 'Vick' shadow. Coming to Tech, he was the one after Mike Vick. Then, he has to fight to keep his job from Marcus Vick. A lot of folks don't realize how good of a quarterback Bryan Randall is. His numbers don't astound you from game to game but he makes plays and he leads the team. Not to mention he is closing in on quite a few records at Va tech for the quarterback position.

Hopefully, for Marcus Vick this will be the learning experience necessary for him to get his head out of his hind parts and realize the fortunate situation he has in front of him. Next year, he can come to spring training and compete for the starting qb job....and I do want to see a competition. I don't want the job just handed to him. We have two true freshman qb's backing up Bryan Randall now that are probably getting quite a lesson from watching Randall. Best performer should get the job. Maybe, Marcus can come back and be the quarterback that he was hyped to be upon returning to the team.

Va Tech Makes the Rankings

After what has been a rather impressive 'rebuilding' year for the Hokies, we have finally cracked the Top 25. We are also ranked number 25 in the BCS, though in years past I thought the BCS only ranked the top 15. Oddly enough, UAB is ranked 24th. I can honestly say I have no idea who UAB has played but I don't remember them having a particularly tough schedule before. Quacky computers.

Delving into the political world -- an excellent site that provides random statements from each of the candidates. It allows you to pick which one you agree with more without telling you which candidate made the statement. Click here. Here is how I fared the first time around.

You preferred Bush's statements 33% of the time You preferred Kerry's statements 67% of the time Voting purely on the issues you should vote Kerry Who would you vote for if you voted on the issues? Find out now!

This past weekend...how can I sum it up....okay here goes...Bachelor Party, naked stripper ladies with bananas and whipped cream followed by needing a ride home on Sunday after a day of football...

Drunken debauchery at its finest. And it wasn't even my bachelor party which is coming this weekend by the way. I'm actually a little scared. I am going to have to tell the strippers that I can't do what I saw done this past weekend....no no no....can't have that happen....

All three of my squads won this weekend...first time that's happened in at least a month...all Four including Lakers preseason victory last night...but alas...sports talk no longer occurs on this blog...see sidebar for sports commentary...

Golden State falls to New Look Lakers

In preseason action, the Lakers notched their first victory 94 - 80 over the Golden State Warriors. The win was jumpstarted with a 23 - 2 run to end the third quarter. This game marked the first battle against former Laker Derek Fisher (we're going to miss you fish!) who scored 15 points in the contest.

The story in this game is not Kobe's 23 points, but rather his eight assists. All who had PT in this game scored except Ike Nwankwo whom I've never heard of and didn't know he was on our roster. In any case, the Lakers shot just under 40% which is far from desirable but the win was the result. 22 assists on 31 made field goals for a percentage of 71%. Not a bad team play statistic.

Chicago Victory

Okay, so it took like a month, but we have won another game. With a 13-10 victory of the Chicago Bears, the Washington Redskins improved their record to 2-4.

What's good about this victory? We beat a pretty bad team in a pretty lackluster fashion. We did dominate the first half, but per our modus operandi, a lackluster second half offensive and defensive effort left the game undecided until Chicago's final drive.

Clinton Portis had a beautiful first half with 103 yards off 21 carries. I can only imagine the noise that Redskins would be making if Mark Brunell was tutoring Patrick Ramsey instead of being a role model....put Brunell On The Bench. His prime playing days are long gone. Patrick Ramsey is our future as far as the Redskins faithful can tell right now. Unless our intent is to pickup a big time qb in the next year or two, and Brunell is no longer a big time qb despite his contract, then we need to put Ramsey in the games. Last year, Ramsey picked invaluable experience with Spurrier. We now know that he can take a helluva ass whippin and keep playing. So why not put him in the game with some protection, let him learn the new offensive scheme, give the experience to match his talents?

But we did win and we have a bye next week so maybe Lavar can get healthy and we can make something off this season of hope that has turned so negatively.

I am in the process of creating team specific blogs. So, there may be less content here, at least sports related content anyway, and more life shit, or bullshit as the case may be. Keep in eye out for links to the other blogs...Lakers, Redskins, and Hokies coverage from the obscure eye of the straight guy.....

Bandwagons A Plenty

Can't you just see it now? All year long, players, coaches, journalists, and possibly cheerleaders are going to jump at the chance to criticize Kobe Bryant. They all want to be the first to say the completely unoriginal 'THis isn't the same team without the big greedy'.

I know Kobe has brought some of this negativity on himself, but isn't it odd how no one remembers Shaquille O'Neal's preseason game last year where after each time he scored he yelled 'Pay me Motherf&$CKER' at the owner. I'm sure there were kids nearby but that didn't stop the Big Charge Waiting to Happen.

People say they don't like Kobe because he's cocky. But as I have stated in other blogs, the only difference between cocky and confidence is age. People think he's too young to be this confident so he must be cocky. Whatever man.

Ray 'I've done nothing in the League' Allen spouts off

PORTLAND – A night after competing against Kobe Bryant, Seattle SuperSonics guard Ray Allen offered some sharp, visceral opinions about the Los Angeles Lakers star. Full Story Here.

So let me get this straight...Ray Allen doesn't like having trash talked to him so he spouts off. Hey, Ray, do something with yourself, man. You're like the geek at the prom, close to some action but never actually getting it done. How are you going to speak for Kobe's teammates? Speaking of which, I can't imagine your teammates are overly thrilled about your uncanny ability to miss the playoffs....oh but you're usually hurt so it's not your fault....fragile punk.

The Future and an Introduction

There is a lot of yackety yak going on in reference to the greatest franchise in sports. A lot of 'dirt' being spewed by those no longer a part of the purple and gold family. Well, I'm here to tell you that this Lakers team is not on the brink of collapse. Are they championship contenders? Time will only tell. Are they going to make the playoffs? I have no reason to believe otherwise. Will they compete? AN EMPHATIC HELL YEAH!

This blog will chronicle the Lakers, hopefully game by game (though that is a promise I can't guarantee), week by week, and ideally season by season. Interesting stats, history, game notes, and whatever else I can think of will be available here. I will chronicle my Lakers memorabilia for you (already own a Caron Butler jersey, what!), tell you about some of the best Lakers deals, and keep you entertained with my what some would call obscure point of view on the Lakers.

I am a loyal fan. I do not have a favorite player. If you play for the Lakers, I love you. If you leave, you're dead to me. Rest in Piss Shaq....perhaps when Shaquille O'Neal retires, I can once again don his jersey because his hall of fame legend was built in L.A. But as for right now, there are nothing but ill feelings for the Big Greedy!

Fruition

The time has come. No longer shall I let the media be your single source for Lakers news and notes. This site will be your new go to guy, your star, your workhouse for all that is Lakers. Stay tuned....it's gon' be awfully nasty!!!

So can somebody, anybody, tell me why I get yelled at for doing someone a favor? You ask me to take in your dry cleaning for you. Never mind that I'm sleep when you ask. So I take it to the only dry cleaners I know of. My bad for not remembering YOU had a bad experience with them. I even remember to tell them that you don't want friggin creases in your pants with no reminder from you. Then, they call me and tell me that they put creases in your pants and they are sending them back. I call you to tell you off the situation and you want me to get mad for you at them?!?!? When I tell you I can't do that, you call them and realize that the place I took them is not the place you wanted them to be taken. Realizing that my doing you favors is getting me nothing but static, I simply say, 'Handle your own dry cleaning for now' and being you that you are you get more pissy at me......and somehow I'm wrong in all this......

Can't make up my mind if I want to play basketball today or go to the driving range. Playing basketball means I will lift weights which will make me as big and sexy as I was back in 2000. Playing golf is what I kind of feel like doing because it's my current challenge. Also, think I may need to get lessons...this learning on my own thing is not going particularly well....or maybe my expectations are a little high....although it was reassuring to read on a golf website that for beginners it is pretty common for the ball to go the same yardage regardless of the club.

I'm not sure if I like my job....

So Jerry Rice is making noise about wanting to be traded because he can still give 100% and make things happen on the field. Jerry? Come on man, stop playing, for real tho'...why can't some athletes just go out gracefully? Why do only the bad players find a way to leave the league quietly? Why tarnish a great career by going and doing nothing for a different team? Shoulda stopped after San Fran!

My list of those that won't go away:

• Jerry Rice - WR - Oakland Raiders - His 100% is only 50% of what his greatness and contribution used to be. Be like Usher and let it burn.


• Emmitt Smith - RB - Arizona Cardinals - I mean, the fact that you have celebrity status AND your first name is Emmitt should be enough for you to want to fade into the shadows gracefully. Plus, you resorted to playing for the Cardinals?!?! I know you had a decent game but you're not even the bonafied starter...you're playing because others are hurt....


• Eddie George - RB - Dallas Cowboys - I know Eddie used to be a warrior. He used to play through injuries and still does. But did you ever think that maybe if you took some games off due to injury, you could have that burst that made you a threat to opposing defenses???


• Dikembe Mutombo - C - Some Team Somewhere - When your last shining moment was in 199-??4 maybe, then you should stop. No more dunk on him. It's done, over. Next.


• Vlade Divac - C - Los Angeles Lakers - Dude, you played with, not for, but with Magic Johnson....hell, there's some former player commentators that I don't think can say that!


• Kevin Willis - C\PF - Somebody still - Man, let somebody else be the persistent non factor ninth man off the bench in an eight player rotation....


• Gary Payton - PG - Boston Celtics - You could get off of this list if you could shoot a three, or a mid range jumper, or could at least still play defense or something....


• Reggie Miller - SG - Indiana Pacers - You've been a bitch your whole career but you could shoot the lights out. Still can, but be a graceful bitch and get out while people still look at you without sympathy....maybe if you aged as well as your sister.....

This may be an ongoing theme as we move through the 'Real Sports' seasons....lists that will be heard by only you o' faithful reader.....

Wow, I had typed what I thought was a pretty damn good entry only to have my browser crap on me.

Now it's decision time...do I try to recreate my literary excellence or just say two tears in a bucket and move on...

You know it's a tough decision because I don't know if I can rehash the same passion for the topic that I had when I initially authored it. And even if I could, would I be able to recreate the same wit that was making the post magical....

I slipped back into my Boston persona Saturday spending over 13 hours in bars! Wow...didn't know I still had that in me. As far as the VaTech\WVU affair, my Hokies did what, as I later found out, we were expected to do. How we were the favorites against a 'supposed' top 10 team eludes me. What eludes me even more than a courteous migrant worker is the fact that the media refuses to admit we played a good game....everything is about how WVU wasn't really as good as they were ranked or they didn't play the way they have or something....damn it.... Show the Hokies some flippin' love! Believe it or not, we could very easily be undefeated this year if exactly two plays happened differently. Yeah, I know you hear what if's all the time but right now our season has hinged on exactly two plays....a horrid, embarassing, sham of an offensive pass interference call against USC and our punter inexplicably dropping the ball against NC State (a blocked punt I can take...but the punter just dropping the ball doesn't sit well with me)....

Assplosive! That describes the bowel movement after a glass of milk. Nasty, or as Luda would say 'Awfully Nasty!'

I think I am addicted to golf but I'm not sure. I went to the range for the first time last weekend....bought a cheapo set of clubs this week....and have been plotting how I could manage to go to work today, hit the driving range, and play in a pool tournament all in a single day. Because, well, there's football tomorrow....

Speaking of which, VaTech's game against WVA is huge for me on several personal levels as well as sports levels. I know a lot of WVA fans, met many recently during my expeditions to the Northern version of the Carolinas, and there has been a considerable amount of shit spoken. Now VaTech is the underdog in this game. And for all intents and purposes, we are underdogs for this season, but we could have a really big season relatively speaking if we were to flip the script this game. Plus, if we lose this game, that puts us below 500 for the first time since 92 I believe. Scary thought.....