Mock NBA Draft preview of sorts.

NBA Draft Preview and Mock Draft

The NBA Draft goes tonight and it could prove to be a pretty exciting event in regards to this season's off season activity. Traditionally the draft can be home to some of the off seasons biggest activities. For instance, think back to the moves that Boston made just a few years back in acquiring their big 3, that went on to become NBA champions that following year. This year the draft holds an even more significant part to play as there is looming doubt over a NBA contractual agreement that could leave the NBA locked out heading into next season. A lockout would mean no more player movement for any of the teams looking to boost their team heading into next season and also could mean a plethora of new things regarding salary caps and that sort of things for players out there without a deal in place beyond next season and an assortment of scenarios like that. So let's hope for fireworks, but for those looking for something monumental, remain assured that Pat Riley will be keeping that same Miami Heat squad together and that won't be one of Thursday Night's big happenings. Okay so without much further introduction let's take a look at who has what picks, what players are available and what I prognosticate each team will do as we move through the lottery. There is no denying that this draft might lack some of the superstars we've seen in the past but it does have a lot of guys that have the potential to be starters just not the all stars and superstars of the past. A good, but not great draft.

First up we have the feel could story of the NBA lottery draft (cough, cough conspiracy), Cleveland Cavs owner Dan Gilbert had his 'sick' son represent him at the lottery draft and Clevelant pulled a horseshoe out of their ass, turning the Clippers 8th overall standing and the draft pick received in Baron Davis deal into their own top pick of 2011. The Cavaliers were also quite brutal themselves in the 2010-11 season and for that they have also been rewarded with the 4th pick in the draft as well. So whenever Cleveland is able to get over the fact that Lebron dissed them on national television last July, spurning them and taking his talents to South Beach, they'll begin to realize that they have been given a golden opportunity to turn their seemingly facile franchise back into a winner. Hard to imagine, one player meaning that much to a team but it would as though losing Lebron meant losing everything to last years Cavs and starting from scratch the Cavalier will look to draft a couple of new cornerstones to lead the franchise into the future.

It seems the Cavaliers have already committed to taking Kyrie Irving with their first selection, buying into the recent notion (one I too am buying into) that you need a first tier point guard (re: playmaker ) to be a legitimate title contender in the modern NBA.  The Cavs certainly are in need of a point so this pick makes sense. Will Irving become the NBA cornerstone point god the Cavaliers dream of? I hope so. But I think it's hard to say with such a limited resume of college work. Despite this, I still think he goes first overall and will be at worst a quality pg in the L for years to come.

1st Overall : Cleveland Cavs Select Kyrie Irving

***Breaking News***
As expected, the draft has sparked some trade talk and the first trade to go down features Stephen "Captain Jack" Jackson leaving the Bobcats and heading to the Bucks.

The Bucks will get Jackson and Charlotte's Shaun Livingston, Sacramento's Beno Udrih and the 19th pick from the Bobcats in Thursday night's draft, while Charlotte obtains the No. 7 pick from Sacramento and forward Corey Maggette from Milwaukee.The Kings will get guard John Salmons from Milwaukee and the 10th pick in the draft. Charlotte still holds the number 9 pick as well, and will be looking to rebuild their future, following the departure of former vets Gerald Wallace and Stephen Jackson.

With the number 2 pick who knows what the Minnesota Timberwolves will do. David Kahn has shown us that he is nothing, if not unconventional. Some might have just left it at nothing. But despite a history of drafting underachieving guards far too high (Ricky Rubio, Johnny Flynn)  Kahn has shown a penchant for keeping things exciting on draft day, so look for the TWolves to get involved in some kind of action. As far as their pick is concerned, I think the TWolves most need help at shooting gaurd or point guard (sadly). With Rubio coming in for this season from Spain look for the TWolves to add some wing scoring with the addition of Derrick Williams. The Arizona swing forward has show the ability to score and defend and looks to be the most NBA ready prospect in the draft. The 25 first half points he put up in the NCAA tourny on Duke were no joke either. I expect the Twolves to see him as the best available player and to scoop him up, which likely means, they won't.


2nd Overall Pick - Minnesota Timberwolves Select Derrick Williams

With the 3rd pick in this years draft the Utah Jazz look to use a pick they received as part of the Deron Williams trade at the deadline back in the spring. The Jazz too, are most in need of some wing scoring look
The seem solid up front with Millsap, Al Jefferson, and Favours. So look for them to go in the direction of a guard. With Devin Harris in the fold, the Jazz will likely look for another guard that can push the tempo and knock down shots and that looks to fit the mould of Brandon Knight from what I can see. It's possible the Jazz go in another direction but this makes the most sense to me as Knight seems to be the considered the second best guard in this draft to Kyrie Irving.

3rd Overall Pick - Utah Jazz Select Brandon Knight

The 4th pick in this years draft, as mentioned earlier, falls to the hapless Cleveland Cavaliers. With Irving already in tow, look for the Cavs to go in a different direction here and bolster things up front. This years draft certainly seems slim on potential big man with big futures and European product Enes Kanter appears to be the best of the bunch. Kanter brings some real size and athleticism to the center position and seems to have an NBA ready body. Kanter was a blue chip recruit for the Kentucky Wildcats this passed NCAA season, only to have his eligibility rejected for having played professionally back in his homeland, Turkey. I expect the Cavs to go big here and select the big man.

4th Overall Pick - Cleveland Cavaliers Select Enes Kanter

And that brings us to the moment you've all been waiting for, the Toronto Raptors. I just assume this because of where we live and the people I know who read this. Well as we all know, all too well, the Raps need a lot of help and hopefully Colengelo has been told that he has not has his contract extended because of his sweet Europeanization of their roster. Pardon my french here but I think the Raps need a good scoring, athletic (re: Black), tough, gritty, did I say tough already? and above all else I would like the player to be tough on D. Hard to say what the Raps will do but I think we can see that the Euro methods have sucked and just led to shitty Raptor teams that can't guard anyone. So where does that leave us. I hope it means the Raps select Kemba Walker, the most NBA ready, gritty, guard out of UCONN. Do I think he is the answer?  Not really, because I think the Raps are full of holes and I'm not sure Kemba is a saviour but I do think they should cut ties with Calderon and let Bayless or Walker duel it out for control of the teams reins. If not Walker then hopefully Kawhi Leonard, he's got tattoos and cornrows and I in the NBA I trust those more than 6 syllable European pylons with a 3 point stroke. Juss sayin.

5th Overall Pick: Toronto Raptors Select Kemba Walker (Hopefully not Vesely)

This years draft is rather weak looking and that's not good for the Wizards. The Wizards need a boatload of help and were looking to trade down for a better pick and an opportunity at one of possibly 2 projected future all stars. The Wiz are solid at the point after taking John Wall first overall last season, beyond that the Wiz could use some help at all other positions. I think that Jan Vesely, a rangy, gangly, athletic forward out of Belgrade will head to Washington with this pick. The swingman has some international experience and plays above the rim, has range but has no defence, which means the Raptors will probably have already selected him.

6th Overall Pick: Washington Wizards Select Jan Vesely

In the 7th hole we get a look at the new look Bobcats now that they have moved Stephen Jackson and embraced the youth movement. With no more veterans around the Bobcats will move out of the mediocrity that has plagued this franchise for a few years now and will start over some scratch. Unfortunately they'll likely be bac for a few years to come and look for them to have a bigger impact on next years draft, but for this years they'll be looking to use the 7th pick as well as the 9th pick to start that rebuilding process. I expect the Bobcats to take a big and the best one available is Jonas Valanciunas out of Lithuanian. With their 9th selection I expect the Bobcats to look to their forwards either with a swingman or a power. That could mean Kawhi Leonard, Tristan Thompson, or Chris Singleton. I'll root Canadian here and have them taking Thompson.

7th Pick Overall - Charlotte Bobcats Select Jonas Valanciunas
9th Pick Overall - Charlotte Bobcats Select Tristan Thompson

In the eight hole the Detroit Pistons are a franchise in disarray. Long gone are the memories of 2004's championship squad and I expect a return to the defensive approach that got them there in the first place. Last year's Pistons squad was quite disappointing  on the defensive end of the court, some of that may have had something to do with the team quitting on coach Jon Keuster mid season with his strange decisions regarding vets Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince among others. So yeah the Pistons could certain use guard help here but I don't think that's what they'll be looking for. I think the Pistons will look to find this years Ben Wallace and rebuild their defence from the top down with relative unknown, Bismack Biyombo out of the Congo. But what do I know?

8th Pick Overall - Detroit Pistons Select Bismack Biyombo

At the 10th selection we see the Sacramento Kings who has essentially traded down through their earlier deals, sliding from the 7th pick down to the 10th pick. The pick doesn't really change the Kings plans as it seems they have plans on Jimmer Fredette. With former ROY Tyreke Evans at the point I expect the Kings to look for another wing shooter to compliousins up front so that is certainly an option but I can't see them passing on Fredette's potential as a wing scorer for them at the next level.

10th Overall Pick - Sacramento Kings Select Jimmer Fredette

Alright there's the first 10 picks previewed. I'd like to do more but I've run out of time so we'll put this out for now.

Final Reflections on the NBA Finals, More Countdowns and Things You Ought to Know!

First and foremost I want to wish my baby sister, Mary Elizabeth, a very happy birthday, as she turns 24 today (Ed's note: now yesterday). Also in the realm of HBD's shout out to my Mom, Diane, as well. Di turned the big 5-0 over the weekend, and if it weren't for you - I wouldn't be here. Literally.

Speaking of family, found this song on my brother Dan's facebook wall this week, liked it, with credit thrown the way of his friend he met in Oz, Clifton Our Coloured Milkman (literal facebook name). Enjoy.

As for the rest of you - Good day sirs and madams! It is, quite thankfully, the last week of exams for the high schools in town (regular classes finished up last week), and that means my last week of day to day work - the end of gainful employment. An I'm perfectly okay with that. The countdown is now at below 0 - as gone are the days of leading phys.ed - no friends left for my daily fix of street hockey, ultimate frisbee, and soccer baseball games. I'm merely left to fill the role of exam administrator and supervisor, and I'm lucky to vulture those days at all. My vocabulary is limited to about a six phrase collection that loops through and offers up suggestions like, "good luck", "one hour remaining", "no", "keep your eyes on your own paper", "finish up" and "well I donno, what do you think the answer is?". Instant villain. Such is life!

On the other hand, with school winding down I now have an infinitely copious ( re: a lot) amount of time for reading, writing, sleeping, napping, day dreaming, whim'ing, sunbathing, tanning, relaxing, diddling and doting,  gaming, swimming, sipping, sunning and running.  All aboard the EI train, next stop - surviving the summer. I knew there was a reason for this government of ours, good looking out fellas. Little help with the loans would be nice though. Kidding aside, I am genuinely looking forward to this year's summer vacation an not merely because it involves 'not working'. It gives me time to improve my own health and fitness, as well as get back to reading and writing on a much grander scale. In the past, I've found myself contented with mere listlessness. I've watched, quite apathetically, as the days passed by, content with the nothingness each day held. While that can be a productive at times, from a mental well being standpoint - here and there, I mean - however, to make a habit of such wastefulness, it is quite another thing altogether. So rather than teach, I choose to learn, independently and at my own leisure of course, but learn none the less. I'll be reading up on any number of different topics and if it's worth a mention, it'll surely spill over onto here. So with that said, I'm going to have lots of time for researching and hopefully I'll be able to write a little more as well. Couple that with the end of the basketball season and I'm gonna need to find some new things to write about. So what I need  is for any faithful readers out there to let me know what you want to read about. I've got a few ideas of things I'm gonna work on, but I'm always up for new ideas and suggestions. Things I will be working on though will be - NBA Mock Draft for the Lottery Teams involved + extras, trade rumours, speculations, etc., a beginners guide to Jazz music (or something along those lines.), a weekly restaurant review (restaurant suggestions would be great), Top Cult Film Classics of my lifetime (Back to '85), and of course lists upon lists. Anyway those are just a few things, but your feedback would be much appreciated, and I know you need to sign up to google comment or whatever - so if you want to avoid that nonsense, just drop a line on facebook below a posting or whatever and I'll try and cover whatever it is.  (I assume that's how 99% of you come to my blog, however this Denmark thing is still, very much a mystery.).     


NBA Finals - The Dallas Mavericks are your 2011 NBA Champions.


Now it's been quite a while since I last chimed in on the NBA Finals. In fact, the Heat seemed very much in control through the early part of the series -  when I was last watching and writing. One game I did wish to comment on was The Flu Game Part Deux  - So,we'll  skip over game 3 (the last time the Heat won in 2011) and let's remark upon another awe-inspiring 4th quarter performance by Dirk Nowitzki. Stricken with the flu and a temperature in the triple digits, Dirk broke out of the struggles he faced in the first three quarters to score the final 12 Mavs points and rally them to a 4th quarter comeback win. What I found so intriguing about this was the triangle of individuals it encompassed when evaluating and reflecting upon it's importance. First we have Dirk shedding the "soft" image that has burdened him since his disappearance in the Finals of 2006 . Dirk playing through illness and rising to the occasion in the 4th quarter, which quickly drew comparisons to basketball deity, Michael Jordan. For those that don't remember, Jordan too, overcame a triple digit flu and obvious fatigue to lead the Bulls to victory over the Jazz in the NBA Finals back in 1997. And like most sequels, the original was still better. Let me remind you of Jordan's 'flu' game, one of his best and most telling games of his career.

I chose the word telling because this game speaks to MJ's resolve and his sheer competitive nature that despite the Jazz's formidable challenge and despite his own physical shortcomings he would ultimately overcome and triumph. This game and the rest of the series are what has drawn questions on the 3rd individual I spoke of from the outset. But rather than compare Lebron James to MJ, as we had just two weeks prior, the finals have left us with a mere contrast of the two. Just two weeks previous, Scottie Pippen , the Robin to MJ's Batman, made strong allegations (before later back-peddling) that LBJ might just be better than MJ, and in fact stake a claim at being the best of all time . I think this series has gone to show that Lebron still lacks the mental acuity the MJ possessed in spades. While Lebron showed himself to be a closer throughout both the Boston and Chicago series' he seemed to have disappeared from view at the most important moments of the finals. Consider this, in a tighter than series in which most games were not decided until the 4th quarter Lebron James had just 17 4th quarter points. And of those 17 only a select few came in the final 5 minutes, most with the game already decided. That's the whole series! Dirk scored more than that in the 4th quarter from the free-throw line alone. (Sporting an unblemished 24-24 count.) Whats even more telling is his lack of shots, he hasn't even looked to own the moment. Lebron simply differed or 'shrunk' in the games penultimate moments. If anything serves to distance the mans play - and character - from that of Michael Jordan I think this is it. But enough talk of the Heat, they lost and that's still the number one news on SportsCentre, "Miami Heat lose NBA Finals", rather than the Dallas Mavericks make their own decision to take their talents to South Beach and outmatch, outwit and outplay the Miami Heat. So let's hand out some end of the year awards to this years most deserving team, the NBA champion, Dallas Mavericks.

The MVP - Dirk Nowitzki - Dirk was the unquestionable MVP of this series. The only 'superstar' the Mavericks have, Dirk drained clutch shot after clutch shot, raising his level off play in the moments that mattered most. No longer labelled as soft, Dirk has cemented his legacy as the one of the premiere power forwards of his generation and a clutch 4th quarter performer.

The Vinnie Johnson 'Microwave' Award - Jason Terry - An early nominee for this award (pat on my own back), Terry provided instant offence when he entered the game and carried the Mavs through the first half of the clinching game 6, when Dirk struggled with his shot. Terry was called out after a lackluster start to the finals an rose to meet the challenge - I respect that.

The Vernon 'Mad Max' Maxwell Award - Deshawn Stevenson - This award goes to the knucklehead who was able to put aside his usual knuckle-headed antics and contribute in a meaningful way. Deshawn found his touch from downtown in the final series going 13 of 23 from behind the arc and he provided tough hard nosed defence, matching up with DWade and getting under the skin of LBJ. He was also arrested for public intoxication in the days following their game 7 win, one can only assume he was celebrating this award.

The Inaugural Struan Smith 'Stay Out of My Paint' Award - Brian Cardinal - Brian Cardinal hardly saw the floor in the finals, but when he did he made sure someone else saw the floor, literally. The "Custodian" knew his role and came in the game to deliver hard fouls and make good decisions on offence, he did just that.

The 'Real' Magic Johnson of this Year's Finals Award - Jason Kidd - When people are stumped at comparing LBJ to one MJ they often turn and compare him to the other, forgetting that, he too, was clutch when it mattered most, and, he too, has some jewellery. JKidd might not rack up the triple doubles like he used to, but he still found a way to control the play on both ends of the court. The Mavs never felt out of a game with Kidd's steady hand at the helm.Controlling the ball on offence means controlling the Heat's transition and fast break game.

The Masterlock Lockdown Award - Shawn Marion - I think it's easy to pick on Marion because he no longer plays like the Matrix out in Phoenix that we grew accustom to watching nearly half a decade ago. I think it's worth noting though, that he too has downsized his game and chosen to focus on rebounding and defending as his way to best help his squad. Marion's challenge came at the defensive end and though its easy to hurl disappointment at LBJ, something tells me that Marion's relentless pursuit and pressure must have had something to do with slowing him down.

The KG "Change 'D' Culture" Award - Tyson Chandler - Talk about an off season acquisition! Tyson Chandler may have been exactly what the Mavericks needed, and exactly what Dirk needed. Chandler's toughness, tenacity and passion on the defensive end is infectious, spreading like an epidemic throughout the Mavs franchise. Forever a team thought to under achieve, and not be willing to 'gut it out' defensively, Chandler brought a new, much needed energy, to the defensive end for the Mavericks. Ultimately, I think it's the underrated zone defence that won the Mavs this series.

The Reason Eddie House Needs to Retire Award (Some of you might be thinking... Is Eddie House even that old? And I'd say your missing the point. He's old enough. But I digress....)  - J.J. Barea - There are a whole plethora of reasons for Eddie House to retire and simply just enter local 3 point comps for the rest of his days. This is the one that sticks out most in my mind. I'm speaking off the little inside out dribble move Barea put on House before stepping back to knock down a crucial 3 during the Mavs crucial 4th quarter run. I tried to find a clip but nothing out there yet. That said, House was not alone in getting blazed by the one man fast break that is J.J. Barea. Barea enters the game and immediately has the ability to change the pace of any possession. Whether it is slowing the other teams offence down with his pitbull like, on the ball pressure, or speeding up the tempo with his fearless forays to the hoop, you know he's out there!

The Chessmaster Award - Rick Carlisle - As a series progresses you really begin to see the importance of the adjustments and decisions made by the coaches. I think it is safe to say that the decisions made by Carlisle (Start Barea, limit Peja's role, go small and run passed Miami) outmatched those of Spoelstra. (Who like the rest of us, must have just been waiting for LBJ to show up and win this award for him.)

And that's pretty much it from this year's finals. I really enjoyed this season, as well as this years playoffs. I thought the finals was as good as anything we've seen in quite some time. All of the games were highly intense and game down to crucial moments of execution in the fourth quarter. As far as quality of play and competitiveness I think this season was a real treat and I look forward to the continued progression of the new youth movement within the league that has some of the old guard being over taken by new emerging teams and individuals, leading me to believe a strike would be a real shame in light of some of the comments I've just made.

Furthermore, I realize I have hardly touched on the NHL Finals and that's not because I don't enjoy them or think anything less of their entertainment value, I simply don't have the same level of knowledge with regard to hockey. Beyond that there is already innumerable pundits, critics and commentaries regarding the NHL playoffs where we live, so anything I'd have to add would either be amateurish or redundant at best. What I'm trying to say is that no I do do not understand why Bobby Lou is so remarkably staunch at home yet he becomes swiss cheese on the road? Oh what? No one understands that? Maybe I'm not as dumb as I thought.

If you're not watching the Game of Thrones you should. Juss sayin.

Summer Countdown - Whooo! Schools out for Summer! With Alice cooper fresh in my head here we go with one of my final summer countdowns before the big day arrives. I'll throw together a comprehensive list of all my many reasons to smile this summer with the final 5 when I blog next, til then here's the latest. Won't be long now!

17. Summer Reading -  Reading in the sun or reading in the sand, count me in. Get into a good one!
16. Sun Showers - Got to love when it's so hot out that the sun begins to cry and there's a refreshing sun shower for all to enjoy. That is the scientific explanation for this phenomenon, no?
15. Yard Sales - You never know just what you'll find when you roll up to these yard sale flea markets but sometimes they can yield untold treasures for the frugal shopper.
14. Mini Golf - I like to think this is where I work on my putting game, you know, for when the green is littered obstacles and the hole isn't really the hole, it's just a tunnel to another green with another hole.... because I don't have a difficult time on the greens as it is.
13. Snorkelling - I like to get under there and see what's up and there's not much for scuba diving around here.
12.  Corn Boils - Usually involves a bunch of dudes, beers, and delicious side salads. I have a special preference for 2 of the 3.  
11.  Cold Beer - So I guess it's salads or dudes.
10. Lapping Waves - Sometimes, sometimes, I genuinely prefer this here sound to my own ipod when I'm bathing in the sun. If only it wasn't interrupted by the wailing of a small child, en francaise. Are the cries of a babe any different en francaise - me thinks not, shrill as ever -ear buds back in.
09. Block Parties - Dave Chappelles or otherwise.
08. Fireworks - Whether it's a community function or your own private stock, either way people get jazzed up about big bright things exploding. It's why we love the bomb.
07. Hammocks - Cool pillows and swaying hammocks are relaxation.
06. Picnics - Does anyone still do this. Besides, you know, chips at the beach.

So much new FREE music came out this week through leaks and that sort of thing, including a new Nas song that is certainly worth checking out.

Hip Hop Top 20 - Week 06. 14. 2011

n/a 20. Marvin's Room - Drake

n/a 19. Mama's Boyfriend - Kanye West 
12. 18. Red Nation - The Game Ft. Lil Wayne
n/a 17. Reunion - Bad Meets Evil (Eminem & Royce 5'9")
17. 16. That's Life 2 - Killer Mike
08. 15. Capcom - Kid Cudi
19. 14. How High - J. Cole 
14. 13. Make Some Noise - Beastie Boys
n/a 12. Nasty - Nas                          ***Top Debut***Top Gainer***

06. 11. Dreamin' - Big K.R.I.T
11. 10. M I Crooked Letter - Rossini Ft. Big K.R.I.T.
04. 09. Eraser - Kid Cudi
13. 08. Dreams Money Can Buy - Drake
10. 07. Disgusting - J. Cole
07. 06. Wake Up - Wiz Khalifa

02. 05. All Black Everything - Lupe Fiasco
01. 04. American Rapstar - Big K.R.I.T 
09. 03. Return of Simba - J. Cole
05. 02. Fast Lane - Bad Meets Evil(Eminem & Royce 5'9")
03. 01. Roll Up - Wiz Khalifa

And that's pretty much it for now. Again, gonna have a whole lot more time available to me in the coming weeks and months, so let me know what you want to read about and I'll try and think of a creative way to make it happen.

P.

From Planet WTF? It's Heat 1 - Mavericks 1, Hip Hop 2.0, and the Year In Films...so far.

           Salutations world! Another day of teaching for this guy, and since handing out exam review sheets is something that I excel at, today should be a breeze. While it's not terribly demanding, it should give me some time to formulate my thoughts and pump out another week's end blog. That's right, it's here, the weekend, just over the horizon - thank goodness it's Friday. I teach today and I serve tonight, then we're at week's end - and we're one small step closer to... school's end. Bring on the summer! I've got a real medley of sports, music and movies for the blog today. We'll look at another miraculous Mavericks comeback in game 2 of the NBA Finals. I'll post this weeks Hip Hop Top 20 countdown for your viewing/reading pleasure. We'll take a look at what's dropping this month in the hip hop world. And lastly, we'll hit the box office trail and take a look at this years movies so far, at least according to their IMDB ranks. But first things first, the BIG farewell.        

          Barring any shenanigans (very possible considering the man involved!) Shaquille "The Big Aristotle, "Shaq", "The Diesel", "Shaq Fu", "The Big Daddy", "Superman", "The Big Cactus", "The Big Shaqtus", "The Big Galactus", "Wilt Chamberneezy", "The Real Deal", "Dr. Shaq" (after earning his MBA), "The Big Shamrock", "The Big Leprechaun", "Shaqovic", and "The Big Conductor" O'Neal will be announcing his retirement today. Because of his recent underwhelming and unproductive stints in Cleveland and Boston it can be possible to downplay or underrate Shaq's rank as one of the NBA's all time greats. But let's dismiss those final two seasons from his transcript, the same way we pretend that MJ never laced 'em up for the Wizards. Do that and you're and left with the picture of a man who was a NBA giant, even amongst a world of literal giants. Shaq is a behemoth in every sense of the word, in the post MJ era of the NBA, the Deisel was the pervading personality of the league, he was larger than life both on and off the court.
        
                His legacy transcends the basketball court, he was a star off the court, a result of his forays into the entertainment world through the mediums of both music and film. Despite both his musically career and acting career being relative flops, Shaq always maintained a level of charisma that kept you tuning in to hear the big fella, year after year, soundbite after soundbite. (And... Blue Chips was dope.)  If anything, his dabbling into the entertainment world served to cloud our understanding of just how truly dominant he was as a basketball player. It's a shame if you remember Shaq as the big goofy guy who had a few misguided attempts into mainstream media. What Shaq should be best remember as, is one of the top 3 greatest centers to ever do it and one of the top 10 players to ever play the game. His name belongs in the rafters in Orlando for putting that expansion franchise on the map in the mid 90's and in the hallowed Staples Centre for the 4 championships he (re: Not Kobe) led the Lakers to. As far as dominating the spotlight, Shaq has always been a class act and brought positive attention to the game,  for that he should be commended. As far as dominating a game, there were none better. Recognize.

             I believe the saying goes something like "fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." So, shame on me, I'm a fool, all the above - I wallow in shame and foolishness. I watched the first 42 minutes of game 2 of the NBA Finals. I watched intently. I watched DWade and Lebron James make countless shots that resembled more of the H-O-R-S-E variety, than of the NBA finals variety. Dallas certainly outplayed the home favourites in the first half, but the duo of Lebron and Wade kept the Heat close with a shooting display that can only be described as "astoundingly rediculous". I scoffed as LBJ and the man formerly know as Flash, (how come no one calls him this anymore? Ironically enough, another moniker placed on Wade by none other than Shaq himself.) continued to knock down shots that I would have shouted out "good defense" after, if I was Mav's head coach Rick Carlisle. (Re: I'm not Rick Carlisle folks.) But as I said, despite outplaying the Heat, the Mavs found themselves tied at the half. I thought to myself the Mavs had a chance to win this one, but they've let it slip away.

                The Heat clamped down defensively to begin the second half, began to execute in a more traditional fashion, scoring in transition off of forced turnovers. The Heat seemed to have survived the first half and now were going for blood in the second half; an approach we have seen them take throughout the Bulls series, and something we also saw in Game 1. Except something went wrong this time around. Way wrong. All the way around. With nearly 6 minutes remaining Dwayne Wade hit a 3 from the corner and it looked as if the game, and for all intensive purposes, possibly the series, was over. The Heat must have mailed it in, so did I. I shouldn't have. After all, it was less than two weeks ago that the Mavs fell behind the Thunder by 15 on the road in the closing minutes of game 4, only to storm back in the final minutes, force overtime, and eventually win the game. But that was the young Thunder, they lacked the veteran leadership necessary to hold off the savvy Mavs I told myself. I remarked that they had been struggling to find offence the whole second half and that the tight half court defence of the Heat made the 15 point lead, impregnable - positively insurmountable- yes, I remarked all of these things in a soliloquy. Stru and I looked at each, and mutually pronounced the game 'over'. We began our end of day preparations. I brushed my teeth, I prepared my iTunes playlist for a soft soothing sleep. I put my phone on vibrate, fluffed my pillow, flicked the lights off and slipped into bed. I didn't give Dirk and his merry men the respect they deserved - for the second time in under a fortnight.

           "Bzzzzz, Bzzzz, Bzzzzzz", I hear my phone buzzing, a msg from RT, probably some hyperbole, a Robism telling me that "...the iRock is packed with beautiful desperate women.". (Keep in mind, I'm near the lucid dreaming stage at this point.) Nope. It's a short msg, all it says, "Goooo Dirk". I'm thinking, "I like desperat....wha....is Rob really cheering Dirk on as he heads for the Miami airport down 0-2? Not likely. I flip my laptop open to ESPN.com, Mavs have inexplicably pulled within 6. I flip to an online stream of the game just in time to see the Mavs force a turnover and score on the other end to tie the game up. Timeout Miami. At this point, I'm flicking light switches "Code Red! High Alert! Stru the Mavs are back in it! Get up!" We watched the finish, watched Dirk effortlessly hit the go ahead 3, only to see the Mavs give one up on the other end because of a defensive brainfart. Then there we were with no shot clock left, just a Dallas possession with a chance to win the game or we're heading to overtime. As I had expected some time earlier, there would be no overtime on this night - I just had the wrong team winning it in regulation. Dirk put Bosh in a blender and scored and easy running lay up for 2 off the class. DWade's final prayer would not be answered. Dallas wins. Hard for me to say what happened, I didn't see it. I figure the Heat thought what I did, that they had already won. They took a few bad shots that lead to easy baskets for the Mavs, the Mavs scored a few quick ones and their confidence grew - as did the size of the basket. With a renewed momentum the Mavs got their playoff mojo back and the rest is history. So it is with great shame that I pronounce myself, last night's fool. A fool who went to bed with a smile on his face.

Here's a look at the June release list for what's dropping this month in the hip hop world and how that has me feeling:

June 7th
Big K.R.I.T. - R4: The Prequel - Loving KRIT so I'll probably check out what sounds like his latest mixtape.
Ja Rule - Pain Is Love 2 - Stay gone Ja, stay gone.

June 14th
Bad Meets Evil (Eminem & Royce 5'9") - Hell: The Sequel - Anything Em's on is worth checking out, sadly, sometimes that's enough these days. Hope this is dope and that slaughterhouse has renewed Em's career.

June 21st
Pitbull - Planet Pit - This is for club rap enthusiasts. That's not me. Pass.
Lil Wayne - Tha Carter IV - I'll check it out at some point but doesn't feel anything near my anticipation for his third 'Carter' instalment.
Lil Wayne & Birdman - Like Father, Like Son - Not sure what the thinking is with this release date? Not the Wayne album I'll be looking to hear this week. Over-saturation?

June 28th
Beyonce - 4 - Do any girls read this? If so, that's for you. If not, fellas, there will be booty shaking videos if nothing else.
Big Sean - Finally Famous - Finally getting this album out, really hope this date holds up, looking forward to it.

Here's the latest top 20 list, not a whole lot new caught my attention this week, cept J. Cole has been putting out some hot tracks later and the word is that buzz is building for him to drop his first single of what will be his first major label album. I hope these rumours turn out better than the Detox rumours, cause that album is never coming out. Anyway, have at er.

Hip Hop Top 20 - Week 06. 03. 2011

20. 20. Killin' Em - Busta Rhymes ft. LL Cool J

n/a 19.  J. Cole - How High - It's J Cole's game right now. ***Top Debut***

12. 18. All Of The Lights - Kanye West
14. 17. Show Goes On - Lupe Fiasco
17. 16. That's Life 2 - Killer Mike
10.15. On My Level - Wiz Khalifa Ft. Too Short
16. 14. Make Some Noise - Beastie Boys
18. 13. Dreams Money Can Buy - Drake
07. 12. Red Nation - The Game Ft. Lil Wayne - Watch Jon Connor Do Work on This Beat! Killer.

13. 11. M I Crooked Letter - Rossini Ft. Big K.R.I.T.
11. 10. Disgusting - J. Cole
15. 09. Return of Simba - J. Cole   ***Top Gainer***
05. 08. Capcom - Kid Cudi
09. 07. Wake Up - Wiz Khalifa
03. 06. Dreamin' - Big K.R.I.T
08. 05. Fast Lane - Eminem and Royce 5'9"
06. 04. Eraser - Kid Cudi
04. 03. Roll Up - Wiz Khalifa
01. 02. All Black Everything - Lupe Fiasco
02. 01. American Rapstar - Big K.R.I.T - I've already posted this song so I'll give you another from heater from the same R4 album. Here;s Country Shit remixed with Bun B and Ludacris.

It's been awhile since I touched on anything film related so we'll play a little catch up on the what 2011 has held thus far. Below I've compiled a list of the vast majority of feature films that have received a relative amount of mainstream attention. I've used IMDB because I've found it to be pretty reliable source for films, it's top 250 are all legit and the sheer voting numbers(sample size) lend credibility to the figures, so I'll post those too. It's been a relatively 'ho hum' year to this point. Critically speaking there are only a few complete flops to speak of - Arthur, Priest, Battle Los Angeles. In fact, nearly all of the films to this point lie in  the 'safe to rent' range between 6.5 and 8, with most sitting in the 7.0 to 7.7 range. For instance, right now The Hangover II is sitting at just 7.0, but that's good enough for me, I'll check it out. An a couple of the low scores are brainless comedies that you'd be a fool to expect something momentous - Hall Pass, Your Highness. Good grief, the top score is an animated film about a ninja'ing panda; so no, you're not getting anything life changing, but at least it's been entertaining. That's the way I've felt ab, out many of these movies that I've seen - Cedar Rapids, Hanna, Lincoln Lawyer, Thor, and Unknown - nothing that we'll draw mention in Oscar season but passable stuff. Anyway I'll shut up, here's this years moving rankings to date in alphabetical order.

IMDB Rankings:
The Adjustment Bureau .................................... 7.1 (18, 715)
Battle: Los Angeles ........................................... 6.0 (36, 996)
Cedar Rapids ................................................... 6.9 (2, 632)
Fast Five........................................................... 7.7 (33 982)
The Green Hornet ............................................ 6.2 (35, 050)
Hall Pass .......................................................... 6.0 (9, 230)
Hanna............................................................... 7.5 (9, 195)
Hesher ............................................................. 7.4 (840)
The Hangover II ............................................... 7.0 (19, 052)
Just Go With It......,........................................... 6.3 (17, 883)
Kung Fu Panda: 2.............................................. 8.0 (5, 500)
Limitless............................................................. 7.3 (29, 205)
Lincoln Lawyer ................................................. 7.4 (10, 227)
The Mechanic ................................................... 6.5 (22, 763)
Paul .................................................................. 7.4 (14, 261)
Pirates of the Caribbean On Stranger Tides ........7.0 (33, 049)
Priest................................................................. 5.6 (5,116) (Why I included this, I'll never know)
Rango ............................................................... 7.7 (18, 632)
Rio ................................................................... 7.2 (15, 113)
Scream 4 .......................................................... 7.1 (19,790)
Source Code..................................................... 7.7 (24, 373)
Sucker Punch ................................................... 6.5 (30, 806)
Thor ................................................................. 7.5 (47, 575)
Unknown........................................................... 7.1 (20, 153)
Your Highness .................................................... 6.1 (5.992)

An lastly the latest trailer for end of summer blockbuster Rise Of the Planet of the Apes - This film looks like it's gonna be something special, what do you think? We'll check out some more trailers next week, this will have to do for now.

P.

NBA Finals Predictions, Summer Smile Reasons and Happy Birthday To Me - Now What Have I Learned?

Happy Monday the 30th of May to you all.
Happy Birthday to myself.
And of course, as always, I hope each and every one of you lives forever.

*Of course I began writing this Monday, I finally finished it today.  Busy week with bday dinners, the school athletic banquet and a job interview I had to prepare for Wednesday morning, but everything went well and I'm all caught up, so back to the blog. I wish you a wonderful Thursday and again, I hope that your Monday was as great as mine was.

Business Time.

The NBA Finals kick off tomorrow evening from South Beach, Miami. Which seems appropriate considering this season's title hype got a  kickstart a few months early, compliments of South Beach's own Superfriends last July. So here we are a year later and we're still talking about LBJ, DWade and, on occasion, Bosh. Kudos to the Heat for playing under this immense spotlight all season long and living up to and nearly achieving the hype - they set for themselves. (Only 6 championship to go!) All kidding aside, the Eastern conference champs deserve to be here and have looked like the leagues most dominant team throughout this years playoffs. First they exorcised their playoff demons in an emotional semi final series with Celtics, and for an encore they totally dismantled the leagues top regular season team, MVP of the league and the 2011 Coach of the Year. Peanuts.
That said. Go Dallas.

(Ed's update) Game one went much like a rerun of the Heat's latest games. The Heat battled to hang around for 3 and a half quarters and then gave the ball to Lebron James for the final 6 minutes and let him take over. Execution at the end of games is the difference between winning and losing tight ones and at the moment no one is executing quite like Lebron. What a luxury that must be for Coach Spoelstra to have the team huddle up with 5 minutes to go in a 1 point game and simply have to say, "Lebron gets a touch on every trip from here on out.". The Mavs showed themselves to be a worthy adversary throughout the the rest of the game, and Dirk's shooting percentages suggest that he'll be back to making the majority of his shots come game 2 this evening, so it's too early to rule them out - as long as they have Dirk, they have a puncher's chance. For the first 3 quarters of game 1, the Mavs stretched the floor on O and consistently knocked down jumpers to stay in the game. Unlike the Bulls, when the Mavs superstar isn't on, the Mavs have other scorers that can pick up the slack. I don't think this series is over just yet, but someone has to find a way to contain Lebron James in the closing minutes of a game. The Mavs are just the latest team to face that challenge, and if they don't figure it out quick - well... there will be nothing left to figure out for 2011.

Heat in 6

The Summer-ith Count-ith Down-ith
Great weather so far this week, hit a bucket of balls Monday night and looking forward to getting out for another round this weekend. The days are undoubtedly longer and warmer and that's what we're looking for - string em together and let's call it a summer!

Bikinis are totally in this summer.

24. Bikinis - So nice I put it twice. And I'm feeling a tad vindictive this morning to I propose that 1 pieces should be outlawed; if you can't/won't slip into the two, the beach is no place for you! I agree - too harsh. But if you're wearing a one piece, I'm wearing a speedo - exactly.
23. LFO - Summer Girls - "Summertime girls are the kind I like, I'll steal your honey like I stole your bike."
22. 'Devil May Care' Attitudes - I donno about you but I'm just a little more relaxed in the summer. To say I don't give a what, might be a bit strong, but I'm certainly not concerned with too much. 

21. Mussels - Dump about 5 lbs of fresh PEI mussels into a cauldron of beer or wine and let em steam open.M ix a little garlic butter together and you have one of summer's most delicious seafood treats.
20. RCHP - Far as I'm concerned summer means Red Hot Chili Peppers. I donno whether it's their year round summer Cali vibes or what, but cruise to them in the whip, stick em in your ear buds at the beach while the waves roll, or play them in the background at a party. The Peppers are definitely a major sound of my summer. Aside - Is it too much to ask for a new album though? Stadium Arcadium was a double disc, but that was years ago. Heard rumours of a 2011 album, hope they're true.
19. Beer - It's my third but it's a reallllly big list folks, ya work up a thirst, ya know.
18. The song "Summertime" - Originally recorded by Billie Holiday, this rendition by Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald does the epic Jazz tune justice.

Okie Dokie. So I'm 26 years young today (Monday).  Birthdays are all about getting, er, I mean, giving. Yes, giving. I will admit that in my lifetime I've been given so much. Beyond material gifts, trinkets, bobbles and cards I've received over the past 26 years, I've also been granted lots of life lessons, accrued advantageous advice, as well as a little bit of "finding out the hard way". I feel it's time to take what I've learned and give something back - with that said, as part of today's blog, this being my birthday edition, I'm gonna share some of the lessons I've learned that have stuck with me over the years.  Let's count em' down.

26. Miss Vickie taught me the Golden Rule - it pretty much still applies the same way, though in keeping with the times, shouldn't it be the Platinum Rule by now?

25. University taught me, it's better to sing off key, than not sing at all. Same thing applies to dancing. Move. Shake. Sing.

24. Edmond taught me that hard work beats talent. How bout, talent that works hard - sky's the limit. (Should that saying be updated as welll - Heat's the limit?)

23. Life has taught me that Charades, Volleyball,  - four things that people think are lame - are actually a shit load of fun.

22. Nutbrown taught me that "Fully Prepared" is an underrated state of being.

21. Jay Z taught me "money ain't a thang", Student Loans Canada disagreed.

20. Cali Swag District taught me how to dougie. RIP

19. Gord taught me to treat everyone I meet with respect, you never know who you'll meet - and/or when and where you'll meet again.

18. Mrs. A taught me to be careful of the words I choose, it's hard to unsay things and even more difficult to unwrite them.

17. Mike T taught me that sometimes you gotta swim with the sharks. 

16. The economy taught me to spend all of my loot before it isn't worth anything anymore. Was that the lesson?

15. Campbell taught me to start with 2 straight shots, everything tastes delightful from there. Funny how that never made as much sense the following morning.

14. Mr. A taught me that I can't control everything - just my attitude it the way I respond to everything.

13. Shawn Kemp taught me that condoms are cheaper than children.

12. High School taught me that gossip is the most powerful force in the universe. 

11. Coaching taught me that all things are difficult before they are easy.

10. The internet taught me everything.

09. Heath taught me not to take life so serious. RIP.

08. Australian's taught me that Canadian's do have an accent. Take advantage of that.

07. McLaughlin taught me to fess up when I mess up, and to tell the truth - for it's surely the easiest thing to remember.

06. Dave Allison taught me that not all lessons are taught in the classroom.

05. My body taught me that stretching is always worth the time.

04. Dan taught me "...why the fuck wouldn't I try hard?!." So I go hard.

03. Richard taught me it's ok for people to like different things and have different interests, otherwise I'd never get a ticket to anything.

02.The GTB taught me that no matter how absurd something sounds, or is - it can always get a little nuttier - just the way I like it. Screamin'.

01. My mother taught me to be independent because she's only going to continue to bail me out ... for one more year. Every year. Thanks for that.

I know I've probably omitted countless other examples of lessons and tips I received over the years and for that I apologize. Rest assured that without all of the lessons and experiences I've encountered so far I would not be the person I am today - for better or worse ha. Thank you all for your kind wishes on my 'name day' (as they say in "Game of Thrones") and for all the brilliant nuggets of wisdom you've passed my way over the years!

Here is a leak of the new single off of Kid Cudi's new upcoming album titled "Wizard Rock", not getting great reviews to this point. What do you think?

P.

Enjoy the rest of a great week folks!