The Lake Show!

This past Monday was National Martin Luther King Day. In my entire working life as an adult, I have NEVER had this day off. For some reason, I decided to take a floating holiday day off this year and celebrate at home. It was a cool day. I stayed home, rested a bit, watched the Inauguration with my family, cooked and then settled into the Bulls-Lakers game. The Bulls were coming off a weekend of road games that both went to OT, and they had split those games. However, news that Luol Deng would be out due to a hamstring injury, made me believe the Lakers would get their "swag" back against the Bulls on Monday night. I couldn't have been more wrong. Not only did the Bulls win, they won convincingly, beating the Lakers 95-83. They kept control most of the game, although the Lakers had a few spurts where Kobe got hot and Earl Clark had a solid game for them once again. That was it. To be honest, I totally forgot that Ron Artest, n/k/a Metta World Peace even played for them. He's non-existent on this team now. Steve Nash got peed on most of the night, especially in the 4th quarter by Kirk Hinrich, of all people. Dwight Howard looked lost on the court, turning the ball over too many times to count. If I have ever seen a team that is out of sync, not very well put together and clearly wasting time out on the court, it is the Lakers. I watched as Kobe Bryant dapped Scottie Pippen, then walked towards the tunnel to the lockerrooms, as he shook his head in utter disgust. Then the camera panned to Dwight Howard, who was center court, chopping it up and laughing with Carlos Boozer. Two stars couldn't be more different. While the basketball world are all collectively analyzing the Lakers and trying to understand how and why this is happening. I called it before the season even started. I wish I had blogged about it then. For those who don't know, there are THREE main reasons the Lake Show has ended in disastrous fashion. NUMBER #1: JERRY BUSS Two weeks ago on Scandal (my favorite show right now), President Grant lied in a hospital bed, still asleep/vegetable-like, etc, from several gun shots, one of which was to the head. His wife decided to submit a letter to Congress reinstating him, since the VP had taken charge in his absence. Questions swirled as to whether he was awake, and how he was doing. When she got criticized by the team for doing this, she said, "I am not some man making a decision out of rage. I'm a woman, I thought this through." Not to get philosophical, but Jerry Buss made an "emotional decision" over the summer that has directly placed the Lakers in the shit bag they are currently residing in. Now, we don't know the backstory. What we do know is that his daughter is dating former Laker coach - Phil Jackson. The Guru. The Zen Master who won five titles with the Lakers with two different teams. Phil Jackson is only about 10 or 11 years younger than Buss, who I believe is in his late 70's. Buss' daughter is about 51, though she looks about 38 or 39. For reason unknown, when Phil Jackson's contract came to an end, Buss' not only showed no interest in renewing it with Phil, he got rid of any and everything associated with him. Phil accumulated a nice roster of assistant coaches, led by one-time Laker, Brian Shaw. When Phil left at the end of the season. He had barely stiff walked his way out of the Staples Center, before Buss gave his entire coaching staff the boot. That decision alone, was detrimental. Then Buss took it a step further and hired coaches who not only could not fill those now abandoned shoes, but simply were an awful fit for the team. Folks, this was NOT a business decision. I actually don't fault Buss for not re-hiring Phil. He announced he was done coaching before the end of last season. His body was done. He has his third hip-replacement surgery over the summer, and he blatanly told Waddle and Silvy on Chicago's ESPN radio, that he physically could not handle the rigors of coaching in the league anymore. But for Buss to not hire Brian Shaw, and keep that incredible coaching staff they had was just DUMB. Consequently, Shaw is in Indiana, who are #1 in defense in the East. I'll move on, but Buss' bad decisions will come up in the other two points as well. NUMBER #2 MIKE D'ANTONI I can hear Paul Mooney saying, that people who have "the complexion for the protection" tend to come out on top simply because of their skin color. Well that must be the case for D'Antoni because I have NEVER been impressed with him. He spent the majority of his career in Phoenix coaching a Nash-led Suns team that could never get a title because of Kobe Bryant-Phil Jackson. The latter player-coach was far superior to D'Antoni and Nash. MDA as he is often called, is known for being an offensive specialist. That has mostly worked for him in the offensive centered Western Conference, but even his style had holes in it, as Nash won MVP two years in a row as he exited the playoffs watching Kobe Bryant glide into the Finals for chance after chance at the title. The final time was when the Lakers won the title against the Celtics in 2010. The went a grueling 6-game series in the Western Conference Finals against Phoenix. This had been Phoenix's best season, and many critics had them winning it all. There was just one problem, MDA was the coach. As usual, Kobe and Jackson came out on top. I will never forget Craig Sager being in the Suns lockerroom after the loss, and speaking to Grant Hill. Nash could barely talk. He couldn't even fight the tears any longer. It was awful. You knew that was his only chance to get a ring and it had ended terribly against the same team, same coach, same star - AGAIN. That is why Nash joining the Lakers was a shock. Then after the Mike Brown experiment faltered, Buss thinking bringing Nash and D'Antoni back together is still puzzling to me. Surely in La La land, they have to be looked at as losers. Why would they suddenly become winners because they were in a different area code? Because of Kobe Bryant? As predicted, what is the Lakers biggest problem this season? While there are many, their biggest weakness is their complete lack of defense. With a team that includes both Dwight Howard and Metta World Peace, that is unacceptable. Fact is, D'Antoni is not the type of coach you put in a large market where the team is expected to go to post-season and win. He would fit in on the Timberwolves, the Bucks or even Seattle, once the Kings deal is done. Just like things didn't work out in New York, L.A. hasn't been kinder to MDA. It is just simply NOT a good fit. NUMBER #3 DWIGHT HOWARD It is so easy to look at the franchise player when a team is losing and blame them. I'm sure the Kobe haters could come up with a sleugth of reasons the Lakers troubles are his fault. Kobe can be difficult to play with. He's over-competitive. He's maniacal about practice and condiioning. He shoots the ball too much at times. Yes, we all know these things about the Black Mamba. But one thing remains true about Kobe - he desperately wants to win. If it means being at a visiting gym the second it opens, then Kobe is there. He often works out after games. He even called out Dwight during a "clear the air meeting" the team had a few days ago. Of course Dwight evaded and the Lakers lost again last night to Memphis. Let's go back to last season, when he was still in Orlando. How much of a circus was that? Mysterious injuries! Selling out the coach, then pretending he didn't! Laughing and joking with teammates during big home losses. Ladies and gentlemen, Dwight keeps showing us who he is, we just don't want to believe him! No way a carefree, go any which way the wind blows type of player like Dwight can successfully co-exist with Kobe Bryant. Not to mention, he is playing like crap! Poor rebounding. Offensively stale! Often Dwight look like he's bored or ready to hit the club. The Lakers gambled away the troubled Andrew Bynum for this guy. He has consistently diasppointed. SOLUTION: Trade Dwight Howard NOW! Otherwise, he will jump ship at the end of the season and they will get zilch for him. Get another point guard as well. Nash is done. He needs to retire at the end of the season or sooner. They could pick up a point like J.J. Redick from Orlando for the mid-level and get better production and poionts. They need to prepare themselves to gut the team at the end of the season anyway. Bye Metta. Bye Pau. Bye D'Antoni. This season is pretty much a wash, but it can be saved from being a total disaster with a few trades before the February deadline. Either way, the Shit Show that used to be Lake Show needs a major face lift.

Miscellaneous Randomness - The June Edition!

Well folks it's been almost a month since I have regurgitated random thoughts on this blog, so here is some randomness for the month of June.

So, the weather is officially HOT now, which means that we ladies are having the feet out more. Now, thus far I have seen quite a few infractions...ladies, please oil, grease, moisturize or whatever you do to your feet before you pull them out all willy nilly. People of color do get ash, and thus when we show more skin, moisture is important. Go ahead, splurge, get that pedicure, you'll love it and so will your feet. For some, it is just plain necessary.

It is with sadness that I report the death of comedian, George Carlin. I really liked him, I always thought his incredible wit, penchant for finding humor in a ridiculous government, and his courage to attack the wrongs of this country were what made him brilliant.

I think I was about ten or eleven, the first time I watched his stand up. That was the first time I heard the term "N.I.M.B.Y." otherwise known as Not In My Backyard. Nimby was Carlin's way of telling people that we are all okay with righting the wrongs of society, as long as it's not in our backyards. Put the prisoners, juvenile delinquents, drug addicts, etc. in some far away place and we'll all be okay. He will be greatly missed.

BEEF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Clearly this weekend was the weekend for all of those with beef with someone else to let it rip. First up....Ice T and Soulja Boy????????? What?

As you can hear in this clip, Ice T basically feels that Souljah Boy singlehandedly ruined hip hop. I might be willing to agree, but I can't give the tike that much credit. While his song had soccer moms learning the dance, it is my belief in three years he will be long forgotten, thus he can't be given credit for such a feat in this great genre. No, in fact, many lame MC's contributed to the fall of hip hop.

Now, folks before you get the popcorn, there is a zippy and unexpected twist to this drama. Yes, another player has entered this Act and it is none other than Kanye West. Now as much as I support this hometown guy, he is a bit nuts at times. This is DEFINITELY one of those times.

His comments on the matter, according to Mediatakeout.com:

"Soulja Boy is fresh as hell and is actually the true meaning of what hip hop is 'sposed to be. He came from the hood, made his own beats, made up a new saying, new sound and a new dance with one song. He had all of America rapping this summer. If that ain't Hip Hop then what is? A bunch of wannabe keep it real rappers that ain't even relevant, recycling samples trying to act like it's 96 again and all they do is hate on new sh*t? N*ggas always talk about the golden age but for a 13 year old kid, this is the golden age!!! That song was so dope cause everything he said had a hidden meaning... that's Nas level shit... he just put it over some steel drums which is also some Nas shit if you had the 2nd album cassette with the bonus track "Silent Murder" on it. In closing... new n*ggas get ya money$$$$$$$$$$ Keep this sh*t fresh and original.... ain't no f*ckin' rules to this sh*t and that's what real hip hop is to me. "

WTFFFFFFFFFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Is Kanye smoking that stuff? Is he sipping the yak? Comparing Soulja Boy to Nas is like comparing that hooker on Madison and Halsted to the Bunny Ranch. Two separate worlds. To make matters worse, he went even further, by stating on his blog that they have similar styles and music!!! First of all, when Nas first hit, he didn't even have a label, manager or promotion. They dropped him thinking his underground hip hop style would fall flat, instead of getting five mics from The Source and becoming an instant classic. Soulja Boy has one hit, and he has soccer moms doing his dance. Nas didn't inspire a new dance, he inspired a new way of thinking in hip hop. He inspired a consciousness in hip hop with a very real street edge. The two are NOTHING alike. It is just....wait, I need to breathe....it is just unthinkable that Kanye would compare the two and go even further by saying they are just alike! This is insulting as hell, and real heads would have to give him a virtual pimp slap for that grave infraction.

And for HIM to diss mixing samples, something he has made a career out of, is just preposterous! No, it's not '96, but Nas never has cared about everybody loving him or his music. He has always made the kind of music he wants to make. Soulja Boy isn't rapping with hidden meaning. He knew very well that white kids and their moms wouldn't know that "Superman that Hoe" was a porn term. This is complete and utter bullshyt for Kanye to even try and defend such garbage! Clearly they caught him at a high moment.

I digress....

In other BEEF, Shaquille "Overrated and Trying to Be A Cop" O'Neal is running his fat mouth again. Dissing Kobe in a rap he gave at a NY club, he disses him in a "Kobe couldn't do it without me" fashion regarding the Lakers losing to the Celtics in the Finals.

Okay, I need about 30 seconds...

WTFFFFFFFF! Shaq couldn't do it without Dwayne Wade! Let's face it, Shaq has gotten lucky in his career, in that he has always played alongside superstars. Everyone knows the year the Heat won, they were lucky as hell, and if it hadn't been for Wade, the Heat wouldn't have won a damn thing. Shaq was almost nonexistent in the Finals that year, he played not even half the season, and then got hurt going into the playoffs. In fact, it was all that extra playing and compensating that has kept Wade on the bench the past year and a half. As soon as Wade went down, the team had the worst record they've had in years, got swept by the Bulls in the playoffs one year, and just plain didn't make it the next. And this year, the Lakers beat the Suns, so what the hell is Shaq talking about? With Nash, Stoudemaire and Hill, Shaq couldn't get it done, and before he waddled into the desert, they were the favorite in the West.

Did he really say, Kobe made him get a divorce??? Wasn't that slip-up like four or five years ago? Was he really wearing a large chain that said BIG?? See, this is why Shaq has become a joke - he spends too much time on buffoonery in the off season, and less time trying to stay in shape, thus being relevant once the season starts. The funny thing is Kobe will get it without Shaq, and I wonder what Mr. Bigmouth will say then. UUUUGGGGGHHHHHHH!

KNOCKED UP!

So, in the past year, 17 girls at Gloucester High School have gotten pregnant. That's four times the amount the school normally has. Almost all of the girls are high school sophomores, and the Mayor of Gloucester claims that this is because Mayor Patrick Duvall has cut funding for many of the school's programs and the "No Child Left Behind," plan has failed.

All of the girls took Sexual Education in their freshman year, however, the school stopped the practice of passing out contraceptives, when they fired the school doctor for giving out contraception. However, several parents and school officials not only admit to seeing the girls celebrate and high five upon hearing that they've conceived, but some have been hearing about this alleged pact from their kids for months now.

Gloucester, MA is a small fishing town off Cape Ann. Most of the industry for the town comes from fishing, an industry that has taken a hit in this failing economy. Many families have been broken as a result, and many believe that the pact is a quest for unconditional love. Whatever the case, clearly there is a problem and it starts with communicating and then educating the girls at this school. Being a parent is hard, and a lot of work, I pray that they continue with their lives and follow their dreams. We have fallen on hard times, but there is still hope. I just hope they realize this!

Kobe: Taking Risks or Being Reckless....

So, it's like almost 1 a.m. and my arse is still up. As fate would have it, I am on YouTube, and just as I am about to finally go to bed, I come across this vid:



Now some people seem to think that this is all fake, and that there was some green screen of the car and outside, but I don't know, this looks pretty darn real to me. But considering that this is the first season the Lakers have a real chance to go past the first round of the playoffs, I ask, should Kobe have risked getting seriously injured to do this stunt? Was whatever amount of money Nike (obviously paid him to do it) worth it? I mean this was just a week and half ago.

See this is what I get for being up way past my bedtime, who am I kidding, I have never gone to bed early. But still, this video is way better than watching an hour of those two ladies try to sell mantoys on Shop Erotic...LOL!