Rose Gloom

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I was busy on Saturday. As usual, it is my only day to get everything done, and this Saturday was no different. I was however happy about two things. One, I was able to watch the first half of the Bulls opening playoff game, and two, it wasn't raining. Local weatherman, Stever Baskerville warned that Saturday was going to be a rainy and gloomy day. Little did Chicagoans know, the gloom was going to come on West Madison Street at the United Center around 3:00 p.m. Throughout the afternoon, I checked my tweets for scores and updates, then I saw fellow friend and tweeter, Taylor, who has dubbed herself "The Duchess of Deerfield" due to her undying love and affection for starting Bulls point guard Derrick Rose, tweet that he was hurt. I felt uneasy for a moment. Honestly, knowing Derrick wasn't 100%, I wasn't against the staff holding him in this series. While the 76'ers are a formidable team, the Bulls could beat them without Derrick. Save him for Boston or Atlanta I thought. God, how I wish that is what they decided. When word got out that Derrick suffered a season-ending torn ACL, I felt absolutely putrid. To say I was sick is an understatement. The melancholy really sat in on Sunday as I made my way to church and listened to the ESPN-1000 crew talk about the injury. It got real. I pondered over it, wondering why this affected me so. For some reason, Derrick has just affected people. I honestly expected no one outside of Chicago to even care. I saw a few Miami fans tweeting their laughs and crass remarks about how they were glad that he got hurt, which I think is reprehensible. You don't celebrate someone else's pain, but then again, I'm still trying to figure out how one becomes a Miami Heat fan. But I also saw numerous tweets from people all over, including celebrities, who were in shock and disbelief. My sickness over it centered around Derrick moreso than the team. It was like, how can something like this happen to someone like him? Rose, who represents what's right in the league and now this. This season has left quite a few teams battered and bruised, due to the condensed schedule. And to say the schedule has nothing to do with it, would just be an outright lie. Up unil this season, Rose played 280/286 games. Numbers don't lie. Stern's reluctance to acknowledge that is reason number 3, 456,799 why he should step down as the commissioner. The owner's bottom line took precedence over the health and well-being of the players. This was a mistake and should not be repeated. Now there are 3 players who won't be playing for the U.S. this summer, and how heartbreaking Rose is one of them. No, it's not the end of the world. After at least 6-9 months of rehabilitation, Rose will probably be driving the basket for the amazing circus shot and the And-1, but for right now, my emotions are as dreary as the spring weather outside

Miscellaneous Randomness! The Mid-April Edition...

So here it is the middle of April and it is still cold outside. In fact, Sunday before last, which I believe was Palm Sunday, it was FREAKING SNOWING outside!!! I was incredulous to say the least. The irony that I live in Chicago and I am adverse to cold weather is not lost on me. This year though, the weather has been RI-DAM-DICULOUS! One day, it is a warm breezy seventy degrees and the very next, it is 35 and snowing outside like it is December. I'm officially over it already.

So lately, on the bus, I have found that my patience bar is at an all-time low. The Chicago Transit Authority has now gone environmental and for some months now have had Hybrid buses on the street. These large monstrous, yet environmental buses have "touch" back-doors. Yet, every single day someone gets their non-reading arse on the bus and stands there like an idiot at their stop as if the back doors are supposed to magically open on their own. Nevermind the fact that in BIG BOLD letters, it specifically says "PRESS HANDS HERE TO OPEN"! I mean seriously folks, a child could figure this out. It amazes me how everyday, people do the same dumb crap. Reading truly is fundamental.

So Da Bulls (in my Southside of Chicago Irish voice), are in the playoffs. YAY! However, they are playing Boston in the first round. Shall I plan the summer vacay now? Seriously though, I have a hunch that this series won't be the sweep that people think it will be. If my hunch is right, then Boston is in for quite the windy ride against the Chi!

On a political note, can you believe these uber-conservative Republicans throwing these (dare I say) TEABAGGING parties??? I mean I don't know if anyone else is oblivious to the double entendre here, but if we are dealing with idiots, they will be showing up to the party with an entirely different idea than protesting the raising of taxes. What I wouldn't give to be a fly on the wall at one of those mix-ups...LOL! If we don't raise some taxes, then our great-great-great=great grandchildren will be still paying for our debt. Speaking of which, the Obama's paid almost 900K in taxes last year. GEEZ LOUISE! Talk about practicing what you preach.

Music News

I am still amped about the I AM tour coming to the States. Rumor has it that when the tour hits the U.S., Mrs. Carter will be touring with Mr. Carter! Can you imagine that? That freakin show will be sold out in like 5 minutes.

SIR DRAKE!


Yes, I am still on that Drake Mixtape. Right now, he is the only cat out there who is both rapping and singing well. No disrespect to Ye and Weezy, but they need to stick to that initial career of JUST rapping. Drake has an ill flow, with a Hova swagger, although he is killing Mr. Carter in the substance. Then he flips it, and will sing a la Joe/Kenny Latimor-ish and it kind of blows you away. This kid will be around for a while, I am just feeling his swag right now. A friend of mine couldn't get into him because she's not into light-skinneded (ugh) dudes...I will be so glad when black people stop being so color-struck. Truthfully what does complexion have to do with talent? And we say slavery is over with...

This whole Keri Hilson v. Beyonce, Ciara, Pussy Cat Dolls or whoever is just too ridiculous to really be addressed. Get on first. Get established first. Get platinum first. Achieve stadium status ON YOUR OWN FIRST! Now that, that is out of the way. Her album is nice, not awe-inspiring, but radio friendly, clean your house while listening to it kind of record.

I have also been blazing that N.E.R.D. "Seeing Sounds" records. If you don't have this record - go out and buy it, trust, it is such a worthy purchase! Gotta love those Star Trak boys! That Jada record review will be next.

Oceans 7


So, it is no secret, I am like addicted to YouTube. I need to cut back on watching it at work (yeah I know), but Jermaine Dupri has a channel on YouTube called Living the Life. Those who regularly watch it are called Lifers. What has become interesting is this Oceans Boy clique he has put together. The Oceans 7 are:
Jermaine Dupri - The General
Johnta Austin - Johnny Sinatra
Usher - The Light
Bryan Michael Cox - The Texas Ranger
Tyrone (JD's Asst.) - Intynational
Trey Songz - 007/11
Nelly - Moe(?)

These guys are typical men, they are truly an explicit male version of the View. The things they discuss are hilarious, crass at times, but definitely entertaining. Check them out.

Playoff Memories

So, as I am enjoying this time of year probably for the twentieth time of my life, I decide to peruse the websites for rhetoric on this weekend's games. All of the main sites (ESPN, SI, Yahoo, NBA) pretty much have the same stories and highlights. However, I ventured onto Page 2 hoping to catch a good story from Scoop, and came across Page 2's homage to their favorite playoff moments.

I smiled, inwardly knowing that somewhere on this list would be a Jordan moment. Considering that Jordan dominated almost an entire decade in NBA history, I prepared for some stories that I could share in. I was surprised when I read Jemele Hill's commentary on her most memorable moment. It was the 1987 Eastern Conference playoffs when Boston beat Detroit off of the Larry Bird steal of Isiah Thomas's inbound pass. Jemele bitterly recounted how she has hated anything Celtics ever since.



I can understand that as well. I too, have teams that I historically just don't like. But, the last statement in her paragraph left a bad taste in my mouth. She said:

"(Oh, and for the record, my 1A favorite NBA playoff moment was when the Pistons refused to shake the Bulls' hands after being dethroned in the '91 conference finals. You say classless, I say awesome.)"

Now, I know a lot of sports enthusiasts such as myself and I don't know anyone who can agree with that statement. In the '91 Eastern Conference Finals, when the Pistons walked off that floor by not even saying goodbye, thanks for a great series, good luck or anything, that clearly went down as one of the worst sports moments in history. It was certainly the most classless in NBA history and that is her fave? Jemele, so much bitterness can kill a person! To this day Isiah Thomas can kick rocks in my book, which he literally can do now considering that he's unemployed and any GM would be out of their mind to hire him at this point. The fact that she could take such an enormous act of sore loserness as "awesome," is just blaphemous. As many times as the Bulls lost to the Pistons prior to that year, Jordan always showed class and sportsmanship, which is why his legacy surpasses so many of his counterparts. I had to embed that moment for all who don't know.



And since we are on the subject of these nostalgic moments, I will offer one of my favorite moments in playoff history. It is no secret that I can't stand Cleveland. We'll just chalk it up to the whole city. It doesn't matter if we're talking Cavaliers, Browns, Indians - Cleveland sucks in my book and they always will. Being a die-hard Bulls fan, there are just too many bad memories to let it ride. From the fight between Danny Ferry and Michael Jordan to the collage of cheap shots from Brad Daugherty and Gugliotta. I can't stand Cleveland!

So, as you can probably guess, my favorite playoff moment was when Michael put them in last-minute shot infamy with what has been dubbed as "The Shot Part 2." We always see the first time he lit them up during the 1989 regular season, when he shot over Craig Ehlo and won the game. But that second shot that took place in the '93 playoffs was oh so sweet. I prayed for moments like this. I was a young high-schooler, a sophomore in fact, and the laugh that I got from this moment just made my decade. Check it out!



I hope you enjoyed my playoff memories, and please don't hesitate to leave a few of your own.