Strikingly Similar

When it comes to technological advances I'm a bit of a laggard. I had a flip phone all throughout college. In fact, I didn't enter the world of smartphones until December of 2010. I got my first iphone within the past 12 months. I staunchly refused to join Twitter, thinking it was trivial, for years before realizing that if you're not on Twitter you're falling behind. I have only recently joined Instagram and Snap Chat. I adamantly refuse to buy a nook/kindle. I enjoy the experience of going to a bookstore and browsing for new titles. In most instances I know deep down that I'll eventually cave, but I don't think that's the case with reading off of a screen. I like holding the book and feeling how pages I've read and need to read to finish each passing novel.

I tell you this because a thought dawned on me as I was recently reading one of the three magazines that I subscribe to (New York magazine in this case. The other two are Rolling Stone and Maxim). I was reading an article about the new Leonardo DiCaprio/Martin Scorsese movie The Wolf of Wall Street and it dawned on me that two of my favorite celebrities, DiCaprio and Kobe Bryant, have had strikingly similar careers.

DiCaprio is arguably the best actor of his generation. He took the torch from Tom Hanks/Tom Cruise in the mid to late 90s and has been a critically acclaimed box office draw ever since. There have been other elite actors in that time frame (notably Sean Penn, Denzel Washington, Matt Damon, Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt, and George Clooney), but no one has clearly risen above Leo. You could make the case that some have had better careers, but there is no consensus.

Kobe Bryant is the 2nd best shooting guard in NBA history and I don't think there's much debate about that. Bryant idolized Michael Jordan growing up and was eager to follow in his footsteps. It didn't happen over night, but Kobe has been the best NBA player in the post-Jordan era. Sure there were other great players (Tim Duncan, Allen Iverson, Shaquille O'Neal, Kevin Garnett, Steve Nash, and Jason Kidd), but Bryant's accolades are far superior to most others. It should be noted, however, that LeBron James has usurped Kobe's title as the greatest basketball player on the planet.

The two megastars (they have world wide recognition) are both in their mid to late 30s (Leo is 38, Kobe is 35), but we knew them as teens. DiCaprio was a child actor (appeared in Growing Pains) who got his big break on the silverscreen at age 19 in 1993's What's Eating Gilbert Grape. He earned a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for his portrayal of a teenager with a mental disease. He then burst onto the scene as the male lead in James Cameron's 1997 epic Titanic. Kobe was not the first highschool basketball player to jump straight to the NBA, but he was one the most well known and covered at the time of his ascent. Case in point, we all know that Kobe took Brandy to his prom. Less than a year later Kobe was a high flying rookie who won the 1997 Slam Dunk contest.

Leo's individual career is, admittedly, not as impressive as his reputation would suggest. He has not yet won Best Actor in a Leading Role Oscar, the ultimate honor in acting. In fact, he's only been nominated for it twice (The Aviator in 2004 and Blood Diamond 2006). I would argue that he should have at least garnered a nomination for The Departed (2006), but the studio (Warner Bros.) instead pushed for his role in Blood Diamond to be rewarded. He also should have received Best Supporting Actor nominations for his work in Gangs of New York (2002) and Django Unchained (2012). I do think that he'll eventually win the Best Actor Oscar as almost a career achievement sort of way. Similar to how Kate Winslet won Best Actrees in 2009 for her role in The Reader, which was probably her 4th or 5th best performance all time.

Similar to how Leo has been snubbed by the Academy, Kobe was snubbed for years when it came to the MVP award. He's finished in the Top 5 ten times, but only once (2008) did he come away as the winner. For example, Steve Nash won in 2006 by averaging nearly 19 points and more than 10 assists per game. Kobe led the league in scoring (35.4), hauled in more than 5 boards a game, and dished out 4.5 assists to the likes of Smush Parker, Kwame Brown, and Chris Mihm.

While Kobe only has one MVP award, he does have five championships. The acting equivalent would be being cast in a film that wins Best Picture at the Academy Awards. DiCaprio has been a part of two Best Picture wins (Titanic, The Departed) and has "been to the finals" (been in a movie that was nominated for the grand prize) four other times (Gangs of New York, The Aviator, Inception, Django Unchained).

What this tells us is that Leo and Kobe are great individual talents that have been a part of some really good teams. In fact, it's clear to see that they're both at their best when they're surrounded by other elite players/actors. Kobe was at his best playing with Shaq and has won two titles with Pau Gasol as the Robin to his Batman. DiCaprio has thrived alongside Kate Winslet (Titanic), Daniel Day-Lewis (Gangs of New York), Tom Hanks (Catch Me If You Can), Matt Damon/Jack Nicholson (The Departed), and Jaime Foxx/Christolph Walz (Django Unchained).

Not only have they had great teammates, they've also had great coaches. For Kobe it was Phil Jackson. He of the 11 championship rings and unquestionable pedigree. For Leo it was (and continues to be) Martin Scorsese. The two have now teamed up for five successful films (Gangs of New York, The Aviator, The Departed, Shutter Island, and The Wolf of Wall Street).



It's no secret that DiCaprio and Bryant are among the best of all time in their respective fields. It's just striking how similar their career paths have been. Bryant is well ahead in terms of cementing his legacy, but DiCaprio has 30-40 more years to add to his acting career if he so chooses. We don't see such sustained success in sports or acting anymore these days. The two elite performers, who both have LA ties (DiCaprio was borned/raised there, Kobe plays there) are truly titans of their industries.

Book Reviews

Back in April, at the suggestion of one of my many bosses, I started an internal newspaper at work. The goal was to inform my colleagues about any and all relevant news regarding our department and to do so in an engaging manner. A half serious/half mocking approach is kind of my thing, so I wrote a handful of upbeat articles (some of which included made up quotes), polled everyone with the same title on a series of questions, and created quick blurbs to fill in the remaining white space (my favorite was a list of "Buzzwords to use in conversations with your manager").

A few weeks back the manager who originally suggested the newsletter, my editor- if you will, told me to start ramping things up for the second edition. In an effort to mix things up I've written two reviews for books with a sports connection. The first of which was written by ESPN Radio's own Mike Greenberg. The second was written by legendary coach, and former NBA player, Phil Jackson.

all you could ask for by Mike Greenberg

The fact that a sports talk radio host penned this novel is almost unfathomable. That is, of course, if you don’t know who Mike Greenberg is.

If you listen to just one segment of Mike and Mike you learn two things. 1.) The Twitter handle of Greeny’s wife and 2.) That each host’s characteristics are exaggerated to fit a certain role. Greeny is the skinny, smoothie drinking, metrosexual geek and Golic is the overweight, dumb ex-jock.  This difference between the two Mikes is even spelled out in the show’s new logo (one “Mike” is in skinny type while the other is in a larger, more round font).

Greenberg clearly has some feminine qualities (going all lower case in the title among them), but none that would suggest that he’d be able to write a novel that features three distinct female protagonists. Writing from the point of view of the opposite sex is a daunting task. In fact, there may not be a bigger challenge for an author. Jack Nicholson’s character in As Good As it Gets (1999) made it sound easy when he, a famous author, was asked how he writes women so well and said, “I think of a man…and take away reason and accountability,”, but it’s incredibly difficult.

Somehow, someway Greenberg, with the help of his wife and their yoga teacher, pulled it off. That is the real victory of this novel.  Only once did I find myself saying, “A woman would not act/say that,” but then again, I’m not a woman, so what do I know?

all you could ask for is a story about three woman from different paths of life (even though they all have ties to the ritzy town of Greenwich, CT) that connect through their battles with breast cancer. As you might expect, there are a plethora of references to running, hiking, protein shakes, smoothies, fresh fruit, and wine. There are also a handful of scenes that feature nudity and a number of usages of the word “ass” (including in the first sentence), which I certainly did not expect.

The words fly off the page as quickly as Greenberg’s opinions do every weekday morning. His urgent cadence drives the plot from page to page and chapter to chapter. Greeny’s skills as a talk show host very clearly carry over into his writing. His unique ability to hook listeners into sticking through a commercial break shows at the end of each chapter. At times it’s hard to put the book down because you feel the need to find out what happens next.

That said, the second half of the novel falls flat. As the woman deal with their breast cancer treatments they "bond" quickly and forge unrealistically deep friendships, despite a series of ridiculous exchanges between two of them. The ending is confusing, far-fetched, and unsatisfactory. I would definitely not recommend this book to another male and would have some reservations about telling a female to give it a shot.

 
Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success by Phil Jackson

Not many of us want our careers to define our life. We believe that our families, thoughts and ideals, and true passions are more important. The same holds true for the most decorated head coach in the history of the NBA.

Phil Jackson’s latest book Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success is part spiritual journey and part how Jackson implemented his constantly changing philosophy on life and leadership throughout his career in the NBA as both a player and a head coach. That’s something that most people too often forget. Phil Jackson was a solid player in the NBA. He won two NBA titles in the 70s with the New York Knicks (it should be noted that he was injured for the first title).

Jackson grew up in Montana, a place he’s never really left mentally, as the son of two ministers. Growing up he was bombarded with religion. He went to mass twice on Sundays. Once to hear his father’s sermon. Then again to hear his mother’s. Obviously this led to his natural inclination in divinity, but as he grew up he needed to find a respite from his religious obligations. That, in part, is why he turned to basketball (the other part being his God gifted height and ability).

In the book Jackson provides a season by season synopsis of his career as a coach in the NBA. Interestingly he gets to the playoffs very quickly in his descriptions and references the boredom many of his teams dealt with in the regular season. Within the text we learn a great deal about his thought process. He was averse to calling early timeouts because he wanted his players to learn how to play through adversity. It also seems as if he was petrified of Game 7s because of their uncertainty. 

In many ways this book is exactly what you would think that it would be. Jackson provides a detailed breakdown of the famous triangle offense, that he learned from assistant coach Tex Winter. He tells stories about how he handled the eccentricities of Dennis Rodman. He explains the disdain he felt toward Kobe Bryant during the ’03-’04 season and how they mended their relationship. There are plenty of passages about his dealings with Michael Jordan (including their conversation before MJ decided to play baseball) and their great respect for one another.

Throughout it all there are quotes from Zen leaders and Buddhist monks, references to Lakota Warriors, mentions of motorcycle rides through the Rockies to clear his mind, stories about how he used meditation to relax his players, and examples of how he implemented the fundamentals found in psychological theories like Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

The King's Throne

Over the weekend Miami Heat forward LeBron James was awarded with his 3rd NBA Regular Season MVP award. Only seven other players in NBA history have accomplished that feat. LeBron is only 27, so I imagine that he might win a few more. The biggest difference between LeBron and the seven other 3 time MVPs is that they’ve all won at least one NBA title. That said, I still think LeBron ranks pretty favorably all time as his career stands right now.

To adequately assess LeBron’s place in NBA history we’ll use The Book of Basketball written by ESPN.Com/Grantland.Com columnist Bill Simmons. He knows a lot more about the NBA than I do, so I’m comfortable using his rankings even though I disagree with a few of them.

LeBron was ranked 20th back when the book came out in 2009. Simmons wrote, “A dopey ranking for obvious reasons: he’s twenty-three and headed for the top-eight (possibly higher) in the The Second Book of Basketball, which should be released somewhere between 2016 and 2018 after my wife leaves me and I need a quick influx of cash.”

I know LeBron hasn’t won a title yet (just wait about a month and that might change), but he’s unquestionably the best player in the world. He took an absolute dogshit Cavs team to the finals in 2007. Aside from LeBron that team featured Eric Snow, Larry Hughes, Drew Gooden, Big Z, Varejao, and Daniel Gibson.

I think that LeBron, at the very minimum, ranks 14th all time right now. Here are the players that currently rank ahead of him.

1.) Michael Jordan- 6 time NBA champion, 6 time NBA Finals MVP, 14 time All-Star, 5 time NBA Regular Season MVP, All NBA First Team 10 times, All Defensive First Team 9 times, NBA Defensive Player of the Year (1988), 10 time scoring champ (7 consecutive), starred in Space Jam (1996)

Career averages- 30.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.3 assists

2.) Bill Russell- 11 time NBA champion (they didn’t give out the NBA Finals MVP Award until 1969), 12 time All-Star, 5 time NBA Regular Season MVP, All NBA First Team 3 times, 5 time rebounding champ, was awarded the presidential medal for freedom (the highest award a civilian can receive)

Career averages- 15.1 points, 22.5 rebounds, 4.3 assists

3.) Kareem Abdul Jabbar- 6 time NBA champion, 2 time NBA Finals MVP, 19 time All-Star, 6 time NBA Regular Season MVP, All NBA First Team 10 times, All Defensive First Team 5 times, 2 time scoring champ, 2 time rebounding champ, 4 time blocks champ, NBA’s All-Time leading scorer, starred in Airplane (1980)

Career averages- 24.6 points, 11.2 rebounds, 2.5 blocks

4.) Magic Johnson-5 time NBA Champion, 3 time NBA Finals MVP, 12 time All-Star, 3 time NBA Regular Season MVP, All NBA First Team 9 times, 4 time assists champ, 2 time steals champ, is HIV positive

Career averages- 19.5 points, 11.2 assists, 7.2 rebounds

5.) Larry Bird- 3 time NBA champion, 2 time NBA Finals MVP, 12 time All-Star, 3 time NBA Regular Season MVP, All NBA First Team 9 times, All Defensive First Team 2 times, dominated the first ever 3-point contest with his warm-ups still on



Career averages- 24.3 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 6.3 assists

6.) Wilt Chamberlain- 2 time NBA champion, 2 time NBA Finals MVP, 13 time All-Star, 4 time NBA Regular Season MVP, All NBA First Team 7 times, All Defensive First Team 2 times, 7 time scoring champ, 11 time rebounding champ, 1 time assists champ, NBA’s All-Time leading rebounder, scored 100 points in a game, slept with over 20,000 different women

Career averages- 30.1 points, 22.9 rebounds, 4.4 assists

7.) Kobe Bryant*- 5 time NBA champion, 2 time NBA Finals MVP, 14 time All-Star, 1 time NBA Regular Season MVP, All NBA First Team 9 times, All NBA Defensive First Team 9 times, 2 time scoring champ, allegedly sexually assaulted a hostess in a Colorado hotel (we all know it was just consensual sex though)

Career averages- 25.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.7 assists

*Simmons had Kobe at #15 in his book, but wrote in the epilogue wrote the following because the Kobe’s Lakers won the title in 2009, “For the paperback I’m expanding the Pyramid to 13 and sticking Kobe at No.8. And you know what? Duncan’s No. 7 spot isn’t safe. Let’s see how the next few years play out.” Well Kobe went on to win another title and Finals MVP in 2010, so I think it’s safe to bump him past The Big Fundamental. Everyone else listed will obviously now drop down a spot from where they were when the book was first published.

8.) Tim Duncan- 4 time NBA champion, 3 time NBA Finals MVP, 13 time All-Star, 2 time NBA Regular Season MVP, All NBA First Team 9 times, All Defensive First Team 8 times, has never committed a foul in his career and gets fouled on every shot attempt in the paint

Career averages- 20.3 points, 11.3 rebounds, 2.2 blocks

9.) Jerry West- 1 time NBA champion, 1 time NBA Finals MVP (in a series his team lost), 14 time All-Star, All NBA First Team 10 times, All Defensive First Team 4 times, 1 time scoring champ, 1 time assists champ, the NBA logo was modeled after him, Nicknamed Mr. Clutch even though his team lost 8 of the 9 times they went to the Finals



Career averages- 27.0 points, 6.7 assists, 5.8 rebounds

10.) Oscar Robertson- 1 time NBA champion, 12 time All-Star, 1 time NBA Regular Season MVP, All NBA First Team 9 times, nicknamed "The Big O" which is pretty cool

Career averages- 25.7 points, 7.5 rebounds, 9.5 assists

11.) Hakeem Olajuwon- 2 time NBA champion, 2 time NBA Finals MVP, 12 time All-Star, 1 time NBA Regular Season MVP, All NBA First Team 6 times, All Defensive First Team 5 times, 2 time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, 2 time rebound champ, 3 time blocks champ, only won his titles because MJ had retired

Career averages- 21.8 points, 11.1 rebounds, 3.1 blocks

12.) Shaquille O’Neal- 4 time NBA Champion, 3 time NBA Finals MVP, 15 time All-Star, 1 time NBA Regular Season MVP, All NBA First Team 8 times, 2 time scoring champ, has a doctorate degree from Barry University

Career averages- 23.7 points, 10.9 rebounds, 2.3 blocks

13.) Moses Malone- 1 time NBA champion, 1 time NBA Finals MVP, 12 time All-Star, 3 time NBA Regular Season MVP, All NBA First Team 4 times, All Defensive Team 1 time, 6 time rebounding champ

Career averages- 20.6 points, 12.2 rebounds, 1.3 blocks


Notice that all of those players won at least one NBA Championship. That’s the only thing missing from LeBron’s resume.

LeBron James- 8 time All-Star, 3 time NBA Regular Season MVP, All NBA First Team 6 times*, All Defensive First Team 4 times*, 1 time scoring champ, nicknamed himself King James, the only thing that moves faster than LBJ on a fast break is his receding hairline



*LeBron hasn’t officially been named to the All NBA First Team and the All Defensive First Team for the 2011-12 season, but let’s be real here. He’s going to.

Career averages- 27.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, 6.9 assists

If the Heat win the title this year I think that vaults LeBron past Jerry West to #9 all time.

I guess my point is this. Instead of bashing LeBron every time the Heat lose, you should embrace his incredible skill and talent.

NBA Preview

The NBA makes its triumphant return on Christmas Day and I couldn't be more excited. First of all, I don't have to work, which is fantastic news. I thought that the chock full Christmas Day slate in the NBA would keep me in CT for the holidays. I'm also excited because it finally seems like my beloved New York Knicks are legitimate contenders in the Eastern Conference for the first time in over a decade. Trust me when I tell you that I've watched far too many Knick games featuring Stephon Marbury, Steve Francis, Tracy McGrady, Zach Randolph, Jamal Crawford (I loved him), etc.

In an effort to subside my hard on for the return to the hardwood I've decided to write a quick team by team preview for the upcoming 66 game season.

I've ranked the teams by conference and projected their 2011-12 record (Yes, the total wins and total losses are equal).


Eastern Conference

1.) Miami Heat (52-14)- The Heat lost in Game 6 of the NBA Finals last year and they’re only going to get better. If you gave me the Heat or the field to win the 2012 NBA title I would take the Heat and I wouldn’t even think twice about it.

2.) Chicago Bulls (48-18)- They certainly upgraded at the 2 with the addition of Rip Hamilton, but he’s wayyy past his prime. The Bulls are very solid, but who’s their #2 scorer? Carlos Boozer? How’d that work out last year?

3.) Boston Celtics (42-24)- I get it, they’re a year older. People keep pointing to this like Rondo, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, and Kevin Garnett aren’t good anymore. I’m sure the compact 66 game schedule will affect them a little especially because their depth isn’t what it once was (which is only exacerbated now that Jeff Green is out for the year), but I’m not ready to sell the Celtics yet.

4.) New York Knicks (40-26)- The Knicks biggest concerns last year were defense, defensive rebounding, defending the low post, and protecting the rim. Tyson Chandler is the perfect addition because he does all of those things well, but he can’t cure all of the team’s ills. His unselfishness on the offensive end will also be a plus because there already aren’t enough shots for Melo and Amare. While Chandler makes perfect sense the Knicks had to give up Chauncey Billups and stability at PG to get him.


No, that's not Kimbo Slice. It's the Knicks new PG.

Enter Baron Davis. I’m very intrigued by this signing. For starters, ESPN’s Ric Bucher seems to think that Baron will only be out 4-5 weeks instead of the 8-10 that’s been reported. Everyone keeps saying that if Baron is healthy and motivated he’ll be great for the Knicks. “If he’s healthy and motivated.” I wish it were that easy for me. It’s almost like people are treating Baron like a supermodel/actress that gained a little weight. If she gets healthy (loses weight) and is motivated she can start wrecking dicks again.

5.) Atlanta Hawks (34-32)- The Hawks are stuck in a perpetual cycle of mediocrity. They are never going to win an NBA championship with this roster (especially with the absurd amount of $ they have invested in Joe Johnson). The way I see it the Hawks can either be the 4-5 seed for a few more years and never get past the 2nd round or they can blow the entire team up, bottom out, and hope to land a future superstar in the draft.

6.) Indiana Pacers (34-32)- I really like what the Pacers did this offseason in adding George Hill (a great sparkplug backup PG to push Collison) and David West (he was so underrated that he became overrated, but now he’s underrated again). A foundation of Darren Collison, Danny Granger, and David West may not be enough to win the title, but it’s certainly good enough for 6th place in the East.

7.) Philadelphia 76ers (33-33)- Doug Collins did a hell of a job with this team last year. They were young and he brought a sense of stability. They should get better with another year of experience.

8.) Milwaukee Bucks (32-34)- They lost Corey Maggette, John Salmons, and Keyon Dooling and replaced them with Mike Dunleavy, Jr., Stephen Jackson, and Beno Udrih. I’ll call that a slight upgrade. If Andrew Bogut stays healthy and Brandon Jennings takes a few less contested 3-pointers (he was 98 for 303 from deep last year) this team may climb back to the 6 spot, which is where they finished in 09-10.

9.) Orlando Magic (31-35)- I think Dwight will be traded before the trade deadline in March, but he’ll be around long enough to keep this team around .500.

10.) Detroit Pistons (29-37)- The Pistons are a worse (albeit younger) version of the Hawks. Sure I think that they’ll see a little addition by subtraction with Rip Hamilton gone, but how far are they going when Rodney Stuckey, Ben Gordon, Tayshaun Prince, Charlie Villanueva, Austin Daye, and Greg Monroe are their top 6 players?

11.) New Jersey Nets (24-42)- A full year (66 games, but you know what I meant) with Deron Williams running the show and the Nets should improve significantly. They swung and missed with Carmelo last year, but they seem to be one of the two landing spots for Dwight and he’s a game changer.

12.) Washington Wizards (21-45)- They will be very young, but there is a lot of talent on this roster. John Wall is the only star, but Syracuse native Andray Blatche and Nick Young can score, and Javale McGee protects the rim better than most.

13.) Charlotte Bobcats (18-48)- The Bobcats roster is horrendous. This is an easy comment to make, but I seriously think that Michael Jordan, at age 48, would be their best player. Seriously, this is their potential starting five...

PG- DJ Augustin
SG- Corey Maggette
SF- Boris Diaw
PF- Tyrus Thomas
C- Melvin Ely

14.) Cleveland Cavaliers (16-50)- Kyrie Iriving and Tristan Thompson better grow up in a hurry because there isn’t too much else on this roster other than a washed up Antawn Jamison and Anderson Varajeo.

15.) Toronto Raptors (15-51)- DeMar Derozan showed some signs last year, but I can’t get behind the foreign trio of Andrea Bargnani, Jose Calderon, and Linas Kleiza.


Western Conference

1.) Oklahoma City Thunder (49-17)- I still feel like they’re still a year away, but the West is theirs for the taking. Durant is an assassin, Perk slimmed down significantly, and James Harden stepped up in the playoffs. If Russell Westbrook can stop going 9855783 miles per hour at all times and learn to value the basketball the Thunder will be the team to beat in the West.


He either snorted a lot of cocaine, worked out a lot, or gave up Cap'n Crunch like C.C. Sabathia did.

2.) Dallas Mavericks (44-22)- They’re the defending champs, so I have to give them respect, but losing Chandler and Barea may come back to bite them. There’s no doubt that they’re talented, but I can’t figure out what they’re doing in the frontcourt. They essentially have 3 awkward forwards. Shawn Marion is a PF trapped in a SF’s body, Dirk is a SG trapped in a center’s body, and Lamar Odom is a SF trapped in a PF’s body.

3.) San Antonio Spurs (43-23)- Weird to think that they were the #1 seed last year. The roster didn’t change too much, which means that they’ll probably trot out an impact foreigner they drafted 3 years ago. Tony Parker, Manu, Richard Jefferson, and Tim Duncan may be old, but they know how to win and Gregg Popovich is one of the few coaches in the league that actually matters.

4.) Los Angeles Lakers (42-24)- Kobe may be a better player off the court this year (Hide your wives, hide your daughters, hide the hotel maids),but he’s still a top 3 player in the NBA (LBJ and Durant). Maybe he and Pau, who was clearly rattled in the playoffs after his GF dumped him, will get it together. Can't you see Kobe going on a one mission to avenge the wrong that David Stern did the Lakers by nixing the Chris Paul trade? All that said, the Lakers still have major concerns- PG defense, Andrew Bynum’s health, and first year head coach Mike Brown.

5.) Los Angeles Clippers (39-27)- The addition of CP3 may be slightly overstated, but it’s still a big deal. The Clippers starting 5 (CP3, Chauncey, Caron Butler, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan) is legit, but I question their depth. They do have 4 point guards (CP3, Chauncey, Mo Williams, and Eric Bledsoe), so they'd be the odds on favorite to win a ball handling competition (which is a lot more gay than it is noteworthy).

6.) Memphis Grizzlies (39-27)- The Grizzlies gained valuable experience in the playoffs last year (beat the Spurs in 6 and lost to the Thunder in 7). Z-Bo was simply a man among boys, which was FTW (fun to watch). Now they lost Shane Battier to the Heat, but they get Rudy Gay back from injury, so I expect them to build on last year’s momentum a little bit.

7.) Portland Trail Blazers (38-28)- They have great length in the frontcourt (Gerald Wallace, LaMarcus Aldridge, and the ageless Marcus Camby) as well as some firepower in the backcourt (Raymond Felton, Jamal Crawford, and Wesley Matthews).

8.) Denver Nuggets (38-28)- The Nuggets biggest problem this year may be in dealing with Chinese legalese as Wilson Chandler, JR Smith, and Kenyon Martin seem to be stuck in China until March. As for the team they’ll actually put on the court, Ty Lawson is an exciting PG, Nene is a solid center, and they have plenty of pieces to fill in the rest (Gallinari, Al Harrington, Andre Miller, etc.).

9.) Phoenix Suns (35-31)- The Suns will continue to fade in terms of NBA relevance as long as their roster is built around the 37-year-old Steve Nash and the 39-year-old Grant Hill. Sorry I’m not sorry that I can’t get excited about Shannon Brown (who I actually like), Channing Frye (it’s almost like there’s an electric fence around the 3-point line and he gets buzzed when he tries to go towards the rim), and Jared Dudley. The Suns do have great team chemistry, but that can only get you so far.

10.) Utah Jazz (34-32)- Their backcourt is highly questionable (Devin Harris, CJ Miles, Gordon Hayward and Raja Bell), but I like Derrick Favors and Al Jefferson, and I’m interested to see what Enes Kanter brings to the table.

11.) Golden State Warriors (32-34)- They can score. That much we know. The real question for them will be whether or not first year head coach Mark Jackson can bring some of that St. John’s/New York Knicks/post up point guard toughness to this team. I think they start to get things going in the right direction, but you aren’t going to the playoffs if Kwame Brown is your best defender.

12.) Houston Rockets (28-38)- This team is a collection of decent to not very good complimentary pieces. Kevin Martin and Luis Scola are solid, but they aren’t taking you anywhere.

13.) Sacramento Kings (23-43)- I really liked the addition of Chuck Hayes and it’s sad to see that his contract was voided because of a heart condition, but I still think that the Kings have improved. First and foremost, they drafted the Jimmer. I’m not sure what he’ll really bring (probably not much more than what J.J. Redick has done for the Magic), but he’s got a slight Tebow quality to him. Their best two players are clearly Tyreke Evans and DeMarcus Cousins and Marcus Thornton, J.J. Hickson, and John Salmons are fairly solid pieces to put around them.

14.) Minnesota Timberwolves (19-47)- They have three white PGs (Rubio, Barea, and Ridnour), three white bigs (Kevin Love, Darko, and Brad Miller), and a bunch of Player X’s. By Player X’s I mean that there are 4-5 guys that are not distinguishable from the others. If a casual NBA fan watched the Timberwolves play they’d be hard pressed to tell the difference between Wesley Johnson, Derrick Williams, Wayne Ellington, Michael Beasley, and Martell Webster.

One more point about the Timberwolves. For those people that say that Kevin Love is a top 10 player in the NBA. Stop it. I like Kevin Love. He’s a star with a unique skill set. He’s the best rebounder in the league and he can stroke it from deep, but here’s the problem. He’s at his best as the #2 or #3 option on offense. He can’t carry a team on his back. Just look at his track record. He was the best player on this team last year and they won 17 games. He’d be perfect on a team with a proven scorer like Kobe or Durant, but his skills aren’t fully utilized when he’s deferring to Michael Beasley.

15.) New Orleans Hornets (18-48)- The Hornets are going to be bad this season. Eric Gordon is a budding superstar and Chris Kaman is a serviceable center, but are they enough to win 20 games? I don’t think so.

Pull the Trigger

Tomorrow night is the NBA Draft and I for one cannot wait. Everyone (ESPN Analysts) is saying how it’s a weak draft class (no way it’s weaker than ’00), but I’m still excited either way. Not only do the Knicks have a first round pick, but for as long as I can remember I have circled the night of the draft on my calendar (not actually, but if I had a desk calendar and I want one I would). The same goes for the NFL Draft. I used to watch all 7 hours of the first day and write down the first round picks on the same pad of paper year in and year out (I still have it, too). I make no excuses for being a sports junkie. It’s who I am. In fact, drafts are what make fantasy sports so appealing to me. For a few hours you get the sense, albeit a fleeting one, that you’re the general manager of a sports franchise. The only person I know who is more obsessed with drafts than me is my buddy Alex who had me and another friend doing fantasy drafts of all sorts in the middle of CAPS (Current Affairs/Public Speaking) class back in high school.

There are plenty of intriguing storylines in this year’s NBA Draft, as usual, but the one that I find most intriguing is the trade that isn’t going to happen between the Lakers (a top tier, veteran team) and Timberwolves (a super young team that had the worst record in the league this year). The proposed deal that’s been reported has the Lakers sending 4-time All-Star forward Pau Gasol to the Timberwolves for 1-time All-Star forward Kevin Love and the #2 overall pick. Gasol, arguably the best Spanish player of all time, will turn 31 in a few weeks whereas Love will turn 23 in September. When people first caught wind of the proposed deal they (NBA analysts, fans) thought that the Lakers would be getting the better end of the deal.

Love, who played his college ball (for one year) in LA at UCLA, is a rising star who led the league in rebounding, can shoot it from distance, and is a great (outlet) passer. NBA analysts and fans have been clamoring for him to get out of Minnesota because they feel like his talents are wasted there.



Gasol has been receiving some heat for disappearing (not quite as bad as LeBron in the 4th quarter) in the playoffs. The career 18 and 9 performer only scored 13 points and grabbed 7 rebounds per game in the postseason this year. Gasol also (fairly) took the fall for the Lakers losing in the 2008 NBA Finals for being too soft against the Celtics.



Then with the #2 overall pick people suspect that the Lakers would take Arizona forward Derrick Williams, who is big enough to play on the block (6’9), but probably more suited for the wing.

When I first heard about this proposed deal I thought that the Lakers shouldn’t do it. If they did, though, I thought they should take Kentucky point guard Brandon Knight with the #2 pick because with apologies to Derek Fisher and Steve Blake the Lakers don’t have a point guard and it’s becoming a point guard league. Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak is in a tough spot because the deal makes a lot of sense for the organization’s long term future because they’d be infusing the team with some high caliber young talent, but would it be enough to win the title right away? I say no and that’s a big problem because Kobe Bryant is in win now mode. He only has 2-3 superstar years left (and you know he wants 1-2 more rings to tie or pass MJ) and that’s probably how long it would take to develop Derrick Williams or Brandon Knight enough to make a serious run at the title. In my opinion, the Lakers can’t win the title without Pau Gasol. Yes, he was soft in 2008. Yes, he didn’t show up for the playoffs this year. That said, I think he’s wildly underrated. The Lakers won the NBA Finals in 2009 and 2010 mainly because of Pau. He carried the offensive load when Kobe didn’t have it going. I like Kevin Love a lot, but he’s 1/10 the offensive player that Pau is.

The Timberwolves have basically said that there’s no way that they are going to make this deal because they want to keep Kevin Love. I understand that they want to keep the rising star that’s become the face of their franchise, but there’s a reason that they have been actively shopping the #2 overall pick. The Timberwolves are incredibly young. The average age of their roster this season was 24 and they had only one player who was 30 (Luke Ridnour).

The biggest offseason news for the Timberwolves was that the prize of their 2009 Draft (they drafted 3 point guards in the first round) Ricky Rubio, a 20 year old Spanish point guard, is finally coming over to America to play in the NBA. They are basically giving him the keys to the franchise.

Now let me ask you this. What makes more sense if you wanted to get a 20-year-old Spaniard acclimated to the NBA as quickly as possible?

To use the #2 overall pick to draft the 20-year old Derrick Williams and have your roster look like this.

PG- Ricky Rubio (20)
SG- Wesley Johnson (23)
SF- Michael Beasley (22)
PF- Kevin Love (23)
C- Darko Milicic (26)
Bench- Derrick Williams (20)
Bench- Anthony Randolph (21)
Bench- Martell Webster (26)
Bench- Jonny Flynn (22)

Or

To trade Love and the #2 pick to bring in a veteran All-Star (who has championship experience), Spaniard in Pau Gasol that Rubio has played with on the Spanish national team?



I guess my point is this. If I’m Minnesota I make that trade in a heartbeat, especially so that Rubio feels comfortable. Adding Derrick Williams just makes them a team of young kids that are going to get sick and tired of losing. Gasol gives them credibility and makes them a lotttt more competive as their primary scorer.

Now I do have to quickly mention the Knicks draft outlook. The general thought is that they need a point guard (because no one thinks Toney Douglas is the guy) to back up Chauncey Billups or some depth in the front court because they have limited size. They currently sit at #17 and of the players that people expect to still be on the board the following is my wish list.

1.) Kenneth Faried, Morehead State- He’s only 6’8, but he’s an absolute savage on the boards, which is something the Knicks desperately need.

2.) Markieff Morris, Kentucky- He has size (6’9, 241) and he can score. I’m not sure how much he’d contribute right away, but I think size is the Knicks biggest need.

3.) Jeremy Tyler- This is the kid that left high school early to play in Italy. He’s obviously a huge upside pick and the Knicks don’t exactly have the time (or patience) to develop him, but 6’11 with potential is intriguing.

4.) Josh Selby, Kansas- He’s a score first guard that could thrive in D’Antoni’s system, but he’s immature and who knows how much longer D’Antoni has.

5.) Marshon Brooks, Providence- One of the best scorers in the draft. The Knicks play 0 defense, so why not just draft the player with the most upside offensively.

Tennis Anyone?

You probably don't know this about me, but the sport of tennis has always been a significant (maybe not the right word) part of my life. I grew up in a well to do neighborhood just east of downtown Syracuse called Sedgwick Farms. While the houses in the neighborhood were nice and the people were generally friendly, there were only two things that really gave Sedgwick Farms a sense of community. The first was each year on Christmas Eve virtually every house in the neighborhood (outside of the few Jewish people) would light luminaries (white bags with candles in them) and space them out along the street. Quite frankly, they were a hassle that somehow my brothers and I always had to deal with. The other was the Sedgwick Farms tennis club. The club consisted of a two story clubhouse with a dining room upstairs that I've been in once (for a graduation party) and at least 5 courts made of red clay. I still remember taking tennis lessons there as a kid because we were required to wear all white, could only wear a certain type of sneaker, and our instructor's name was Hanz. I can still remember exactly what my racket looked like. It was turquoise Prince racket with blue strings (you could see a P in the strings) and a purple grip.

As I continued to get older I developed a minor passion for the game. In my driveway I would play wall ball (I know that's a lacrosse term, but I think it applies here too) against my garage for hours at a time. I wasn't even deterred by the fact that I broke at least half of the windows on the garage and soon after the ball would routinely go through the holes and I'd have to open the garage door and search for the ball before I could keep playing.

I don't know what it was, but I eventually stopped playing (and when I say playing I mean playing against myself in my driveway) for a few years. Maybe it was because I spent more time playing baseball, or that I got into lacrosse, or that when I played a female family friend who is two years older than me in tennis I got absolutely smoked and my confidence was shot. Either way, I got back into tennis during my junior and senior years of high school because we used to play it in gym class.

Eventually I started playing a few of my friends on a pretty regular basis. One of which I consistently beat even though he was 6'4 and would eventually play 4 years of college football at an Ivy League school. I never lost to him, but the matches were competitive so it was fun. There was another friend of mine who went on to play 4 years of top tier college basketball and 1 year of college football who, for some reason or another, I could never beat. There was no doubt in my mind that I was the better tennis player, but he was definitely the better athlete and his will to win clearly outshined mine on numerous occasions. Our matches were always close (we played best of three sets), but he always came out on top. I specifically remember having a triple match point in the second set (I dominated the first set) and blowing not only that, but the third set as well. To this day I have never beaten him.

During my college years I played tennis in the summer against a few of my friends (one of whom has a tennis court in his backyard) and while on vacation against my dad. For 2-3 years I didn't lose, but my friend who has the court in his backyard kept on challenging me. Eventually he beat me and I can only remember playing a handful of times after that. I'm sure that I've played my dad while on vacation a few times, but the last time I specifically remember playing tennis was during my junior year of college against a girl I had a crush on.

While I wouldn't say that I was ever any good at tennis I did enjoy the sport. I even spent plenty of time watching it on television. For example, I watched the Andre Agassi (who I just emailed to see if he'll come on the radio)/James Blake 5 set thriller in the 2005 U.S. Open in its entirety. Lately I've watched plenty of my girl Caroline Wozniacki. And of course, I've seen plenty of Federer and Nadal. Now before I get more into their "rivalry" I first have to mention a quick word about the #3 ranked tennis player in the world; Novak Djokovic. If you don't know how to pronounce his name now you will in a second. While doing the highlights of a Djokovic match on SportsCenter a few months ago the most underrated anchor in the business Robert Flores said this…



So back to Federer/Nadal. If I asked you, "Who's the best tennis player in the world over the past 10 years?" I'm pretty sure that most of you, assuming you know something about tennis or that you've at least seen enough Gillette commercials, would say Roger Federer. Now you wouldn't exactly be wrong. Federer has won 16 grand slams (6 at Wimbledon), which is the most all time, but Rafael Nadal owns him in head to head matches. The two "rivals" have played 25 times. Nadal has won 17 of them. They've met in the finals of a grand slam 8 times. Nadal has won 6 of them.

Federer will turn 30 in August, which in tennis is worse than being a 35 year old running back in the NFL, whereas Nadal just turned 25 and won his 10^th grand slam in the past week.

All points considered, how can we say that Federer is the best tennis player of all time when his "rival" has dominated him in the course of their careers?

Here's what I think this is a case of. Once Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi retired tennis fans were looking for someone to carry the torch for the sport. They found their man in Federer and anointed him as the best player ever. Federer's elegance, composure, and championship pedigree fit the bill. Then after a few years of pure domination Nadal came along. He's quicker, faster, more agile, and more powerful than Federer. Based on the eye test alone it's clear that Nadal is the better player. Sure, some of that is the age difference, but people are still reluctant to admit it because they've already anointed Federer as "the best player of all time."

This is similar, again similar (not the exact same thing because there a few differences), to what's happened in the NBA. After Michael Jordan retired basketball fans were almost immediately searching for the second coming. Every time a talented shooting guard came up through the ranks people started making the comparison. Finally Kobe showed up and, fair or not, was anointed as the next Jordan. In fact, he tried so hard to be Jordan in the way that he spoke and played that people almost reluctantly said, "Ok, he's the next Michael." Kobe may not have fully lived up to the Jordan comparison, but he came as close as anyone ever has. After his 5^th championship people were starting to put the two in the same conversation. But now LeBron has shown up and is on the precipice of his first title. He hasn't exactly owned Kobe in head to head meetings like Nadal has owned Federer, but I think it would be foolish, even for a Kobe apologist like me, to not admit that LeBron is the more gifted player.

Battle for Conference Supremacy

During the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament there's been a lot of talk about how each conference has performed. Did the Big East deserve to have 11 teams in? How did they only have 2 teams advance to the Sweet 16? Is a bubble team from a major conference more worthy than a mid major?

Well, forget about the tournament for a minute, why don't we just look to the NBA to see which conference is the best? My newly married friend posed this question to me last week and I found it to be fascinating. He said, "If you had to make a 10 man roster of current NBA players from the same college conference, what would be the best team?" After some serious consideration I have compiled the teams from each of the major six conferences. I also expanded the rosters to 12 (the same as NBA active rosters) and included a brief synopsis of how good I think each team is. Feel free to agree or disagree.

(Conferences are listed alphabetically)

ACC



PG- Chris Paul, Hornets (Wake Forest)
SG- Vince Carter, Suns (North Carolina)
SF- Luol Deng, Bulls (Duke)
PF- Chris Bosh, Heat (Georgia Tech)
C- Tim Duncan, Spurs (Wake Forest)

Bench

Raymond Felton, Nuggets (North Carolina)
John Salmons, Bucks (Miami)
Shane Battier, Grizzlies (Duke)
Carlos Boozer, Bulls (Duke)
Elton Brand, 76ers (Duke)
Grant Hill, Suns (Duke)
Antawn Jamison, Cavs (North Carolina

Synopsis- Pretty remarkable that Vince Carter still starts after all of these years. Quite frankly, I like Salmons more, but Carter’s name carries some weight (as in dead weight because that’s what he is). This team’s clear weakness is at the wing. They have nice size (Bosh, Duncan, Boozer), a great floor general (CP3), and great complimentary veteran role players (Battier, Hill, Jamison), but they lack an elite scorer, athleticism at the wing, and a real threat from behind the arc.


Big East



PG- Dwyane Wade, Heat (Marquette)
SG- Ray Allen, Celtics (UCONN)
SF- Rudy Gay, Grizzlies (UCONN)
PF- Carmelo Anthony, Knicks (Syracuse)
C- Roy Hibbert, Pacers (Georgetown)

Bench

Ben Gordon, Pistons (UCONN)
Wesley Matthews, Blazers (Marquette)
Caron Butler, Mavericks (UCONN)
Jeff Green, Celtics (Georgetown)
Emeka Okafor, Hornets (UCONN)
Wilson Chandler, Nuggets (Depaul)
Ron Artest, Lakers (St. John’s)

Synopsis- No true point guard was good enough to make the roster (Sorry Jonny Flynn) and that hurts them quite a bit. They do have two superstars (Wade and Melo), the best shooter of all time (Ray Ray), offensive firepower (Gordon, Chandler), and an emerging star (Rudy Gay), but they have mediocre and limited bigs and no true ball handler.


Big Ten



PG- Deron Williams, Nets (Illinois)
SG- Eric Gordon, Clippers (Indiana)
SF- Jason Richardson, Magic (Michigan State)
PF- Zach Randolph, Grizzlies (Michigan State)
C- Carl Landry, Hornets (Purdue)

Bench

Mike Conley, Grizzlies (Ohio State)
Jamal Crawford, Hawks (Michigan)
Shannon Brown, Lakers (Michigan State)
Kris Humphries, Nets (Minnesota)
Juwan Howard, Heat (Michigan)
Evan Turner, 76ers (Ohio State)
Devin Harris, Jazz (Wisconsin)

Synopsis- Where is the size? Carl Landry is a nice player, but he’s not a center. Outside of him I love the starting lineup. D Will is arguably the best point guard in the game, Eric Gordon has taking a huge leap forward this year after playing with Team USA in the summer, Jason Richardson is one of the most underrated players in the league, and Z Bo is an absolute beast. Their bench has some nice pieces (Crawford, Shannon Brown), but it’s rather underwhelming compared to the rest of these teams.


Big 12



PG- Chauncey Billups, Knicks (Colorado)
SG- Paul Pierce, Celtics (Kansas)
SF- Kevin Durant, Thunder (Texas)
PF- Blake Griffin, Clippers (Oklahoma)
C- LaMarcus Aldridge, Blazers (Texas)

Bench

Daniel Gibson, Cavs (Texas)
Kirk Hinrich, Hawks (Kansas)
Tony Allen, Grizzlies (Oklahoma State)
Michael Beasley, Timberwolves (Kansas State)
DeAndre Jordan, Clippers (Texas A&M) D
J Augustin, Bobcats (Texas)
Nick Collison, Thunder (Kansas)

Synopsis- Easily my favorite starting lineup of the major conferences, but like the Big Ten there’s just not a lot of depth behind it. Another weakness that doesn’t jump out at you right away is that this team really has no low post presence. Aldridge’s low post game is improving, but he’s basically a face up shooter. Blake Griffin is an uber athletic 4 that drives to the rim (he doesn’t operate in the post). Beasley, who can’t win for losing, plays more like a 2 than a 4 even though he dominated the glass in college. That all said, this may be the best of the six purely based on the firepower in their starting lineup.


Pac 10



PG- Jason Kidd, Mavericks (California)
SG- Russell Westbrook, Thunder (UCLA)
SF- Andre Igoudala, 76ers (Arizona)
PF- Kevin Love, Timberwolves (UCLA)
C- Brook Lopez, Nets (Stanford)

Bench

Jason Terry, Mavericks (Arizona)
Gilbert Arenas, Magic (Arizona)
Nick Young, Wizards (USC)
Richard Jefferson, Spurs (Arizona)
Channing Frye, Suns (Arizona)
Aaron Brooks, Suns (Oregon)
Brandon Roy, Blazers (Washington)

Synopsis- Believe it or not, the Pac 10 had the most players that seemed worthy of making the team. Players like Baron Davis, Trevor Ariza, and OJ Mayo didn’t make the cut. This team would definitely operate best playing an up-tempo style. Jason Kidd would have a field day taking outlet passes from Kevin Love and running with super athletic wings like Westbrook and Iguodala. Brook Lopez is a true low post scorer who would love (excuse the pun) playing alongside Kevin Love because Love would make up for Lopez’ softness on the glass. I love Jason Terry, Arenas, and Nick Young coming off the bench and if Brandon Roy could ever stay healthy he would probably be in the starting lineup.

SEC



PG- Rajon Rondo, Celtics (Kentucky)
SG- Joe Johnson, Hawks (Arkansas)
SF- Gerald Wallace, Blazers (Alabama)
PF- David Lee, Warriors (Florida)
C- Al Horford, Hawks (Florida)

Bench

John Wall, Wizards (Kentucky)
Mo Williams, Clippers (Alabama)
Mike Miller, Heat (Florida)
Glen Davis, Celtics (LSU)
Joakim Noah, Bulls (Florida)
Marcus Thornton, Hornets (LSU)
Tayshaun Prince, Pistons (Kentucky)

Synopsis- I’d be very interested to see how Rondo would play without Ray Allen and Paul Pierce. This team would dominate the glass, but who’s their go to scorer? Joe Johnson? He’s a talented 2, but he’s the go to guy on the Hawks and they aren’t even a top 4 seed in the East. This team does have an intriguing bench, but not a lot of players that can fill the scoring void. As weird as it sounds, this team would probably play like a typical SEC team who slows it down, plays aggressive defense, and grinds out tough baskets. They say defense wins, even in the NBA, but you still need to have elite offensive weapons and this team doesn’t have any.


Well now that two mid-majors have advanced to the Final Four (Butler and VCU)I think it's only fair if we take a look at a team comprised of players from non major conferences.

Mid Majors



PG- Derrick Rose, Bulls (Memphis)
SG- Stephen Curry, Warriors (Davidson)
SF- Danny Granger, Pacers (New Mexico)
PF- Paul Millsap, Jazz (Louisiana Tech)
C- Andrew Bogut, Bucks (Utah)

Bench

Tyreke Evans, Kings (Memphis)
Kevin Martin, Rockets (Western Carolina)
Lamar Odom, Lakers (Rhode Island)
David West, Hornets (Xavier)
Javale McGee, Wizards (UNLV)
Jameer Nelson, Magic (St. Joseph’s)
Kyle Korver, Bulls (Creighton)

Synopsis- I would take this team to beat any and all of the teams from the major conferences. Sure they have more schools to pick from, but they are easily the most balanced. They have 4 players who played PG in college (Curry and Evans are now shooting guards), 5 elite scorers (Rose, Curry, Granger, Evans, and Martin), 4 top notch threats from deep (Curry, Granger, Martin, and Korver), and above average big men that have unique skill sets (Millsap is your prototypical low post scorer and rebounding, Bogut is as good of a low post defender as you’re going to get, Odom is arguably the most versatile player in the league as well as an elite rebounder, West can play in the post and has a nice mid-range game, and McGee is an athletic freak who can come in and grab rebounds and block shots). The only weakness I can see, and it’s not much of one, is that they one have one true superstar (Rose) and other teams have more.

*Steve Nash, Suns (Santa Clara) was not considered because, as a Canadian, he is also eligible for our next category. Similarly, other players that were eligible for more than one category (ex: Linas Kleiza, Raptors (Missouri) (Lithuania)) we're not considered.

Foreign



PG- Tony Parker, Spurs (France)
SG- Manu Ginobili, Spurs (Argentina)
SF- Hedo Turkoglu, Magic (Turkey)
PF- Dirk Nowitzki, Mavericks (Germany)
C- Pau Gasol, Lakers (Spain)

Bench

Jose Calderon, Raptors (Spain)
Danilo Gallinari, Nuggets (Italy)
Andrei Kirilenko, Jazz (Russia)
Andrea Bargnani, Raptors (Italy)
Nene Hilario, Nuggets (Brazil)
Marc Gasol, Grizzlies (Spain)
Luis Scola, Rockets (Argentina)

Synopsis- As much as I’d like to say that this group of foreigners would suck, I can’t. This team is loaded. Two legitimate superstars in Dirk and Pau. One of the best late game scorers in the world in Manu. Six viable threats from behind the 3 point line (Manu, Hedo, Dirk, Calderon, Gallo, and Bargnani). Great size (the Gasol brothers, Nene, Scola). Two true pass first point guards (one of which is a former NBA Finals MVP and a confirmed swinger). The biggest question for this team is defense. Kirilenko and Nene are the only two notable defensive players on the roster and Kirilenko is way past his prime. So how good are they? I’d take them to beat any team yet.


If you're even a remote fan of the NBA you know that there's a team that we haven't gotten to yet. You should also know that it's probably the best team of them all.

High School



PG- LeBron James, Heat (St. Vincent’s/St. Mary’s in Akron, OH)
SG- Kobe Bryant, Lakers (Lower Merion in Philadelphia, PA)
SF- Amare Stoudemire, Knicks (Cypress Creek in Orlando, FL)
PF- Kevin Garnett, Celtics (Farragut Academy in Chicago, IL)
C- Dwight Howard, Magic (SW Atlanta Christian Academy in Atlanta, GA)

Bench

Monta Ellis, Warriors (Lanier High in Jackson, MS)
J.R. Smith, Nuggets (Saint Benedict’s in Newark, NJ)
Josh Smith, Hawks (Oak Hill in Mouth of Wilson, VA)
Al Jefferson, Jazz (Prentiss High in Prentiss, MS)
Andrew Bynum, Lakers (St. Joseph’s in Metuchen, NJ)
Tyson Chandler, Mavericks (Dominguez High in Compton, CA)
Dorell Wright, Warriors (South Kent Prep in South Kent, CT)

Synopsis- This team lacks a true point guard (even though some would argue that PG is LeBron’s natural position), but they have 4 current super stars (LBJ, Kobe, Amare, and Dwight) and one former star who’s past his prime (KG). They have explosive scorers on their bench (Ellis, J.R. Smith), unmatched size, six elite defenders (LBJ, Kobe, KG, Dwight, J.R. Smith, and Josh Smith), and 4 solid 3-point shooters (Kobe, Ellis, J.R. Smith, and Dorell Wright). This team’s pure talent and other worldly size makes them virtually unbeatable.

Weekend Rewind

It was quite the weekend for your (third or fourth?) favorite blogger. I worked all day Saturday and all night Sunday, but the weekend that was is still worthy of a quick recap. Here are the top 6 things that went down (some literally) this weekend.


1.) What team do you play for?


My cousin on the left, Tyler on the right, and yes, that was our team uniform

I played in a golf tournament on Friday with Kyle Korver, my unnamed cousin, and my buddy Tyler. The day was filled with plenty of American brews, a few icings, cigars, and a solid round of golf.

In fact, we birdied 3 of the first 5 holes that we played and had visions of winning, but then the booze set in. We gave one back on our 7th hole. Played even par for the next ten and then ended with a birdie for a very respectable 3 under par.


2.) Leaving my mark

After the tournament we mosied on over to the bar that we used to frequent in college. Within seconds of entering I scurried to the men's room and, believe it or not, dropped heat in there for the first time. Now I'd previously been a patron at this bar anywhere from 50-100 times and never once considered depositing some crude oil in the Pacific rim. The thought never crossed my mind because the place was usually packed when I was there, but no more than 15 people were there on Saturday afternoon. I went in with low expectations, because it's a bathroom in a crummy little college bar, but I was pleasantly surprised with the confines. I took my time, did some work, and then went right back to crushing bevs.

With time to reflect upon my actions, I am now proud to say that after four years of frequenting the Seagrape Cafe, I have officially left my mark.

Go figure that this marks the second time in as many months that I have delivered the goods for the first time in a place that I have been to over 50 times. In mid May I flushed my feces for the first time in the Syracuse Suds Factory.


3.) Tying the knot

Speaking of college, Lyle and Tristen officially became man and wife on Saturday. I was not invited, but plenty of my friends from college were there to celebrate the momentous occasion. Now I could use this platform (which I gave myself) to rant about the exhorbitant amount of Facebook (self) promotion that said wedding received, but all I'll say is congratulations to the happy couple.


4.) America....Fuck Yeah!



The 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa kicked off on Friday and the much anticipated opening round match between England and the United States of America took place on Saturday. As you should already know, England scored quickly, but Clint Dempsey's double bouncer was too hot for English goalie Robert Green's oven mitts to handle and the match ended in a draw.

Bring on Slovenia (Friday at 10 AM). USA! USA! USA!


5.) The Lake Show may be sinking....



The Los Angeles Lakers, my adopted post season team (because the Knicks haven't even sniffed the playoffs since 2001), lost Game 5 of the NBA Finals to the Boston Celtics on Sunday night. They now trail in the series 3-2 (the first time they've trailed in a playoff series all year) and now have to win Game 6 and Game 7 at home to repeat as champions.

The Game 5 loss was especially painful for me because I talked a lot of shit to all of my friends from Boston leading up to the pivotal game. To my credit, I did predict that Kobe Bryant would have a monster game and go for about 40 (he finished with 38), but it was all for naught.

Not only did I talk a lot of shit before Game 5, but before the series began I made a bet with my buddy Mark. The bet stipulated that if the Celtics win, I have to go to Boston and pay for all of Mark's drinks for a night, and if the Lakers win, he has to come to West Hartford/Fairfield/NYC (my choice) and pay for all of my drinks for a night. My favorite part about the bet is that the winner has to pay for the loser's brunch the next day.

My pre-series prediction was Lakers in 7, so let's hope that that holds true.


6.) Eat your heart out Tony Romo



On Sunday I found out that my buddy from high school will be playing in this weekend's U.S. Open. Naturally, I was floored when I saw the good news. Playing in the U.S. Open, especially at such a famous course like Pebble Beach, is the pinnacle for almost every golfer out there.

I actually bumped into my buddy in downtown Syracuse about a month ago when I was home for my sisters' college graduation (the night after I dumped in Suds). He was home that weekend (he spends most of his time in Florida nowadays) for a local qualifying tournament, in which he finished tied for first. We talked for about half an hour and he told me how he now had to go down to New Jersey for a regional qualifying tournament. He said that if he finished in the top 2 in that tournament then he would qualify for the Open. I wished him well, but didn't expect him to pull it off because of the high degree of difficulty.

In case you didn't read the link, and I assume that most of you don't, my buddy's name is Dan McCarthy. He's a professional golfer who plays on the Hooters and Canadian tours. The Open will be his first PGA sanctioned tournament and obviously also his first major.

"It was always burning"

As I've stated countless times, one of my goals in life is to memorize the lyrics to Billy Joel's 1989 hit "We Didn't Start the Fire." Sure the song is on VH1's list of the 50 Most Awesomely Bad Songs, but I can't get enough of it.

The lyrics recount many important historical events that took place between 1949 (when Joel was born) and 1989 (when Joel wrote the song). In case you couldn't put two and two together, Billy the Kid is a big history buff. For some reason this notion of chronicling his life speaks to me. As you know, I've seen almost every movie that's been nominated for Best Picture in my lifetime.

Last week as I was driving home from work I decided that it would be a good idea to update Joel's classic hit. I knew that he covered 1949-1989, so I figured that I could write new lyrics based on the events of the past 20 years (1990-2010). I thought that this project would only take a few hours, but I completely misjudged the kind of undertaking that it was. Not only is Joel's tune packed with people, facts, and events, but it's also loaded with half rhymes, full rhymes, and different variations of syllables. So for the past week I've been scouring Wikipedia for significant historical events, counting syllables, and consulting rhyming dictionaries.

I still think that this post needs A LOT of work, but I'm sick and tired of wasting my time on a grueling, voluntary task.

Before we get to my updated version, here's a refresher of the lyrics that Joel wrote more than 20 years ago.


Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnnie Ray
South Pacific, Walter Winchell, Joe DiMaggio

Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon, Studebaker, television
North Korea, South Korea, Marilyn Monroe

Rosenbergs, H-Bomb, Sugar Ray, Panmunjom
Brando, "The King and I", and "The Catcher in the Rye"

Eisenhower, vaccine, England's got a new queen
Marciano, Liberace, Santayana goodbye

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

Josef Stalin, Malenkov, Nasser and Prokofiev
Rockefeller, Campanella, Communist Bloc

Roy Cohn, Juan Peron, Toscanini, Dacron
Dien Bien Phu Falls, Rock Around the Clock

Einstein, James Dean, Brooklyn's got a winning team
Davy Crockett, Peter Pan, Elvis Presley, Disneyland

Bardot, Budapest, Alabama, Khrushchev
Princess Grace, Peyton Place, Trouble in the Suez

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

Little Rock, Pasternak, Mickey Mantle, Kerouac
Sputnik, Zhou Enlai, Bridge On The River Kwai

Lebanon, Charles de Gaulle, California Baseball,
Starkweather homicide, Children of Thalidomide

Buddy Holly, Ben Hur, Space Monkey, Mafia
Hula Hoops, Castro, Edsel is a no-go

U2, Syngman Rhee, payola and Kennedy
Chubby Checker, Psycho, Belgians in the Congo

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

Hemingway, Eichmann, Stranger in a Strange Land,
Dylan, Berlin, Bay of Pigs invasion

Lawrence of Arabia, British Beatlemania
Ole Miss, John Glenn, Liston beats Patterson

Pope Paul, Malcolm X, British Politician sex
J.F.K. blown away, what else do I have to say

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

Birth control, Ho Chi Minh, Richard Nixon back again
Moonshot, Woodstock, Watergate, punk rock

Begin, Reagan, Palestine, Terror on the airline
Ayatollah's in Iran, Russians in Afghanistan

Wheel of Fortune, Sally Ride, heavy metal suicide
Foreign debts, homeless Vets, AIDS, Crack, Bernie Goetz

Hypodermics on the shores, China's under martial law
Rock and Roller cola wars, I can't take it anymore

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning since the world's been turning.
We didn't start the fire
But when we are gone
It will still burn on, and on, and on, and on...

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire...




And now without futher ado...




Buster Douglas, Motley Crue, John Gotti, Belarus
No apartheid, free Mandela, Windows 3.0

Boris Yelstin, Rodney King, Desert Storm, CNN
Magic Johnson, HIV, Super Nintendo

LA riots, Dan Quayle, Murphy Brown, Real World
Leno, H.W. gags, and the Dream Team reps the flag

Don't ask, don't tell, Hoo-ha, the EU and NAFTA
A Few Good Men, Seles is stabbed, piece of the Aggro-Crag

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

O.J. Simpson, bronco chase, Boyz II Men and Ace of Base
Revolution, Bills still losing, Kurt Cobain dead

ebay, Farrakhan, Oklahoma City bomb
Mid...west....heat...wave, Sandra Bullock sped

Dolly, Deep Blue, Michael Johnson's golden shoes
Derek Jeter, Sheryl Crow, Keyser Soze, Daily Show

Mmm bop, Tony Blair, English Patient, Rachel's hair
Princess Di, Madonna cries, scandal in the white house

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

Homeruns hit, Nagano, Michael Jordan, el nino
Seinfeld, He Got Game, Bird to the Hall of Fame

Britney Spears, Y2K, Star Wars I-just ok
rock music gets the blame, Millionaire is our new game

Harry Potter, hanging chads, PS2, Elian's dad
Sydney games, Kim Jong, bubble burst for dot com

Stem cells, 9/11, Google, jingoism
Halle Berry, game on, bankruptcy for Enron

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

Russel Crowe, Homeland, search for bombs in the sand
gunman, Clarkson, World Com extinction

Human Genome is complete, Syracuse can not be beat
Iraq, Dan Brown, Martha Stewart locked down

Face-book, Condi Rice, Livestrong bracelets 'cause their nice
John Kerry, flip flopper, Red Sox solve Yankees' stopper

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

Writer's strike, Dixie Chicks, prison term for Michael Vick
Mad Men, iphones, gas prices, Juno

Twitter, Spitzer, AIG, hockey moms, GOP
swimming fast and smoking pot, Obama takes top spot

Cash for clunkers, Favre is back, Kobe wins it without Shaq
Michael's late, Jon and Kate, swine, meth, Tiger's mates

Obamacare on the floor, Banking rules without a cure
Jay and Conan late night war, I can't take it anymore

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning since the world's been turning.
We didn't start the fire
But when we are gone
It will still burn on, and on, and on, and on...

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire...

My apologies if you couldn't follow some of the rhyming patterns (I tried to spell out how to say/sing some of the lyrics), but you almost need the music to have the words make complete sense. I think the best way to assess my work is to look at it two lines at a time. First read/sing Joel's lyrics (for that part of the song) and then do the same for what I wrote.

That said, here is a year by year explanation of the people, facts, and events that I chose to incorporate in my brief history of the past 20 years.

1990



-Buster Douglas upsets the previously undefeated Mike Tyson on February 11th to become the world heavyweight champion of the world.
-Motley Crue's drummer Tommy Lee is arrested for allegedly exposing his backside during a performance in Augusta, Georgia. He also suffers a mild concussion after falling off of scaffolding above his elevated drum kit during a performance in New Haven, Connecticut.
-John Gotti, a notorious mob boss, is arrested on December 11th.
-Belarus declares its soveirgnty from the USSR on July 27th.
-South African President Frederik Willem de Klerk begins negotiations to end the country's legal form of racial segregation known as apartheid.
-Nelson Mandela was released from Victor Verster Prison on February 11th after more than 27 years in prison.
-Windows 3.0 is released by Microsoft on May 22nd.

1991



-Boris Yelstin is elected President of Russia on June 12th.
-Rodney King is is an African-American who was the subject in a police brutality case involving four white LAPD officers on March 3rd. A bystander, George Holliday, videotaped much of the incident from a distance. The footage showed the LAPD officers repeatedly striking King with their batons. A portion of this footage was aired by news agencies around the world, causing public outrage that raised tensions between the black community and the LAPD.
-Desert Storm is the military response to Sadaam Hussein's invasion and annexation of Kuwait. When economic sanctions proved to be ineffective, George H.W. Bush sent American troops into Kuwait to drive the Iraqis out.
-CNN (Cable News Network), the first network to provide 24 hour television news coverage, received unprecedented popularity because of its coverage of the Persian Gulf War.
-Magic Johnson, the superstar point guard of the Los Angeles Lakers, reveals on November 7th that he has contracted the HIV virus. To that point, HIV had long thought to have been an exclusively homosexual disease. Johnson's announcement was huge in terms of awareness for the sexually transmitted disease.
-Super Nintendo is released in Japan. It is the first 16 bit video game console.

1992



-Riots breakout in Los Angeles on April 29th after the four white LAPD officers accused of beating Rodney King are acquitted. Thousands rioted in the streets for six days after the verdict was announced.
-Dan Quayle, the 44th Vice President, gave a speech to the Commonwealth Club of California on May 19th on the subject of the Los Angeles riots. In this speech, Quayle blamed the violence on a decay of moral values and family structure in American society. In an aside, he cited the single mother title character in the television program Murphy Brown as an example of how popular culture contributes to this "poverty of values", saying: "It doesn't help matters when primetime TV has Murphy Brown — a character who supposedly epitomizes today's intelligent, highly paid, professional woman — mocking the importance of fathers, by bearing a child alone, and calling it just another 'lifestyle choice.'"
-The Real World's first season takes place in New York and debuts on MTV on May 21st. The show would prove to be one of the most successful "reality shows" to date.
-Jay Leno replaces Johnny Carson as the host of The Tonight Show on NBC.
-George H.W. Bush vomits into the lap of Kiichi Miyazawa, the Prime Minister of Japan, during a state dinner in Japan.
-The Dream Team or the 1992 US National Men's Basketball team that won the gold medal at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. The Dream Team was the first US National Team comprised of professionals. The roster consisted of Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, John Stockton, Clyde Drexler, Chris Mullin, Karl Malone, Charles Barkley, Christian Laetner, David Robinson, Patrick Ewing, and Scottie Pippen.

1993



-Don't ask, don't tell is a military policy enacted by Bill Clinton in order to prevent the "witch-hunting" of secretly gay, lesbian, and bisexual service members or applicants, while absolutely barring "openly" gay or bisexual people from joining the military, and expelling those already serving.
-Al Pacino won the Oscar for Best Actor for his portrayal of the retired, blind, and drunk Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade. Slade's signature phrase is "Hoo-ha!"
-EU, or the European Union, is an economic and political union of (now) 27 countries.
-NAFTA, or the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement, is formed between the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The agreement creates a trading bloc (free of tariffs) between the three nations.
-A Few Good Men is a military courtroom drama that stars Tom Cruse, Kevin Bacon, Jack Nicholson, and Demi Moore. Jack Nicholson gets absolutely hosed by the Academy when he doesn't win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Colonel Nathan Jessep.
-Monica Seles, the world's #1 female tennis player, is stabbed in the shoulder during a match in Germany by a crazed fan of rival Steffi Graf.
-Global Guts is a popular Nickelodeon game show where teens compete in physical activities. The winner of each show is awarded a piece of the Aggro Crag, the mountain that the participants had to climb as the final event.

1994



-O.J. Simpson, the NFL Hall of Fame running back and successful actor, is charged with the murder of his wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman. After refusing to turn himself in, Simpson was the subject of a low speed police chase while driving his white Ford Bronco. The chase was televised by all of the major networks.
-Boyz II Men's, a popular R&B group, "I'll Make Love to You" is the #3 song on the 1994 Billboard Hot 100 chart.
-Ace of Base, a Swedish pop band, has 3 songs in the 1994 Billboard Hot 100 chart. #1 The Sign, #9 All That She Wants, and #10 Don't Turn Around.
-The Republican Revolution is what the Republican party dubbed their success in the 1994 midterm elections in which they took control of the majority of Congress for the first time in over 40 years. Newt Gingrich, Rep. Georgia, becomes the Speaker of the House and the most popularized figure of the movement. Bob Dole, Sen. Kansas, becomes the Senate majority leader.
-The Buffalo Bills lose their fourth straight Superbowl. This time it's a 30-13 loss at the hands of the Dallas Cowboys.
-Kurt Cobain, the lead singer and guitarist of the popular grunge band Nirvana, is found dead in an apparent suicide (a shotgun blow to the head) on April 8th.

1995



-eBay, the American company that runs an auction website, forms on September 5th.
-Louis Farrakhan is the national representative of the religious organization known as the Nation of Islam. Farrakhan is the lead advocate for black nationalist interests and helped organize the million man march in Washington D.C. on October 16th.
-Oklahoma City Bombing is a bomb attack on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building that claimed the lives of 168 innocent Americans and injured 680 others. The men behind the terrorist plot are Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols.
-A midwest heatwave took the lives of approximately 700 people in Chicago in a 5 day stretch.
Chicago's daily low and high in 1995:
July 11: 73-90 °F (23-32 °C)
July 12: 76-98 °F (24-37 °C)
July 13: 81-106 °F (27-41 °C)
July 14: 84-102 °F (29-39 °C)
July 15: 77-99 °F (25-37 °C)
-Speed is a film starring Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock. Reeves plays an LAPD officer who hops onto a bus that will explode if it fails to continue moving above 50 miles per hour. Bullock, in her breakout role, plays the passenger on the bus that gets behind the wheel when the driver is shot. The film won 2 Academy Awards in 1995.

1996



-Dolly is the name given to the first mammal ever cloned. She is a sheep who was "born" on July 2nd and lived to the age of six.
-"Deep Blue" is the name of a chess playing computer developed by IBM that Russian Gary Kasparov beat in February.
-Michael Johnson is the American sprinter who won gold in the 400m and 200m at the Summer Olympics in Atlanta. During the competiton Johnson wore a custom-designed pair of golden-colored Nike racing spikes made with Zytel, causing him to be nicknamed "The Man With the Golden Shoes."
-Derek Jeter helps lead the New York Yankees to their first World Series since 1978, beating the Atlanta Braves 4 games to 2.
-Sheryl Crow's self titled album is banned from Wal-Mart stores because of the lyric "Watch out sister, watch out brother/watch our children while they kill each other/with a gun they bought at Wal-Mart Discount Stores".
-The Usual Suspects is a criminal, mystery movie in which Kevin Spacey won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Verbal Kint...and Keyser Soze.
-The Daily Show begins on Comedy Central on July 21st with Craig Kilborn as the host.


1997



-MMM bop is the debut single by pop band Hanson. It becomes one of the biggest debut singles of all time, reaching #1 in 27 countries.
-Tony Blair becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on May 2nd.
-The English Patient wins the Oscar for Best Picture.
-The Rachel is the name given to a popular haircut worn by women during the '90s. The look got it's name from the hairstyle worn by Jennifer Aniston's character Rachel Green in the TV sitcom Friends.
-Princess Diana of Wales dies in an automobile accident in Paris.
-Madonna releases hit single "Don't Cry for Me Argentina"
-President Clinton is accused of having "sexual relations" with 22-year-old white house intern Monica Lewinsky.


1998



-Mark McGwire of the St.Louis Cardinals and Sammy Sosa of the Chicago Cubs chase and break Roger Maris' single season homerun record.
-Nagano hosts the Winter Olympics.
-Michael Jordan retires for the second time after winning his sixth NBA Championship with the Chicago Bulls.
-El Nino is an invasion of warm water into the surface of the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Peru and Ecuador every four to seven years that causes changes in local and regional climate. The most severe of these occurrences took place between 1997-98.
-Seinfeld, the popular NBC sitcome, airs it's final episode on May 14th.
-He Got Game is a Spike Lee joint starring Denzel Washington and NBA superstar Ray Allen.
-Larry Bird is enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachuesetts.


1999



-Britney Spears bursts onto the pop music scene with her debut single "...Baby One More Time"
-Y2K is the name given to a computer related scare at the turn of the millenium. In computer programs, the practice of representing the year with two digits becomes problematic with logical error(s) arising upon "rollover" from x99 to x00. This caused some date-related processing to operate incorrectly for dates and times on and after January 1, 2000 and on other critical dates which were billed "event horizons". Without corrective action, it was suggested that long-working systems would break down when the "...97, 98, 99, 00..." ascending numbering assumption suddenly became invalid. Companies and organizations worldwide checked, fixed, and upgraded their computer systems.
-Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace is released by writer/director George Lucas and receives mixed reviews.
-The Columbine massacre is partially blamed on the hard rock music of Marilyn Manson.
-Who Wants to be a Millionaire is a game show that debuts on ABC with Regis Philbin as the host.


2000



-Harry Potter is the title character of a popular book series written by British author J.K. Rowling.
-Hanging chads were the subject of the controversial election results in Florida.
-PlayStation2, the best selling video game console to date, is released by Sony.
-Elian Gonzalez is the subject of an immigration/custody battle between the U.S. and Cuba. Gonzalez is ultimately returned to Cuba to be with his father in June.
-Sydney hosts the Summer Olympics. The Untited States leads the medal count, although sprinter Marion Jones won 3 golds and 2 bronzes, which have since been taken back.
-Kim Jong il is the controversial leader of North Korea who has been in power since 1994.
-The dot come bubble peaks on March 10th (the NASDAQ hits 5,048.62) and eventually starts to tank for a multitude of reasons.


2001



-Stem cell research is restricted to those cells that already exist by President Bush.
-9/11 is the date of the most devasting terrorist attack on American soil. Terrorist hijack four airplanes, fly two of them into the World Trade Center's twin towers, one into the Pentagon, and one is overtaken and crashes in a Pennsylvania field. The death total reaches nearly 3,000.
-Google, the internet search engine, increases in popularity and starts acquiring other companies to improve its brand.
-Jingoism refers to the overly nationalistic feeling expressed by Americans after the 9/11 attacks.
-Halle Berry stars in the film Monster's Ball, a role that would win her an Academy Award for Best Actress (the first African American woman to win the award).
-The NFL/MLB return to action after 9/11.
-Enron's books are revealed to have been cooked. The energy company eventually files for bankruptcy and many of their top executive face jail time.


2002



-Russel Crowe appears as the lead actor in back to back Best Picture winners (Gladiator and A Beautiful Mind). He won the Oscar for Best Actor for his role in Gladiator.
-The Homeland Security Act creates the Department of Homeland Security. The Act includes many of the organizations under which the powers of the USA PATRIOT Act are exercised. Among other things, it creates the new cabinet-level position of Secretary of Homeland Security.
-WMD's become a hot topic as the UN investigates into whether or not Iraq has them.
-Washington D.C. Sniper John Allen Muhammad killed at least 10 innocent people in early October before getting arrested on the 24th.
-American Idol, a popular television show singing competition, debuts on FOX. Kelly Clarkson is the Season One winner.
-World Com, an American telecommunications company, files chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The largest filing in history.


2003



-The Human Genome Project is completed 13 years after it began in 1990. The goal was to determine the sequence of chemical base pairs which make up DNA and to identify and map the approximately 20,000–25,000 genes of the human genome from both a physical and functional standpoint.
-Syracuse University wins the 2003 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship behind the outstanding play of freshmen Carmelo Anthony and Gerry McNamara.
-The Iraq War begins on March 20th when coalition forces invade the Persian Gulf.
-Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code is published and quickly becomes a best seller.
-Martha Stewart, a famous magazine editor, TV Host, and author, is indicted for insider trading and obstruction of justice. She would go on to spend five months in a federal prison in West Virginia.


2004



-Facebook, the social network site, launches and quickly finds a massive following.
-Condeleezza Rice is nominated to become Secretary of State by President Bush on November 16th.
-Livestrong bracelets are launched as a fundraising measure for the Lance Armstrong Foundation. They quickly become very popular.
-John Kerry receives the Democratic nomination to run for president. During the campaign, he was pegged as a flip-flopper by Republicans for his stance on the War in Iraq. When speaking about a military appropriations bill Kerry said, "I actually did vote for the $87 billion, before I voted against it."
-The Boston Red Sox are on the brink of elimination, down 3-0 in the ALCS and trailing the Yankees 4-3 in the bottom of the 9th inning in Game 4 before scoring a run against Mariano Rivera to tie the game and eventually winning the game in extra innings. They would go on to win the next three games to win the series (the first team to come back from a 3-0 series defecit) and advance to the World Series where they swept the St. Louis Cardinals to win their first title in 86 years.


2007



-The Writer's Guild of America goes on strike on November 5th and demands more compensation for their work. During the strike, many televisions shows are put on hold as new episodes can't air until the writer's write them. The strike is stopped on February 10th of 2008.
-The Dixie Chicks collected 5 awards at the Grammy's including Record, Album, and Song of the year.
-Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick pleads guilty to felony charges of operating a dog fighting ring in August. He is sentenced to serve 23 months in federal prison.
-Mad Men, a television drama set in the 1960's premieres on AMC on July 19th.
-iphones, a cell phone/ipod hybrid, is unveiled by Apple CEO Steve Jobbs.
-Record high gas prices plague the nation in the summer of 2007 with prices in some areas topping $4 a gallon.
-Juno is a comedy/drama film starring Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Jason Bateman, and Jennifer Garner. The film receives 4 Academy Award nominations, winning one.


2008



-Twitter is a social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read messages known as tweets. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters displayed on the author's profile page and delivered to the author's subscribers who are known as followers.
-Eliot Spitzer, the governor of New York, resigns after he is linked to a prostitution ring. The affadavit famously refers to the governor as "Client-9".
-A global financial crisis starts to take shape as the U.S. housing, banking,insurance, and auto industries start to collapse. Hot terms describing the crisis are "bailouts", "too big too fail", and "stimulus package".
-Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska, is chosen as John McCain's running mate in the 2008 presidential election. Palin creates a lot of buzz for the GOP with her good looks and everyday language.
-Michael Phelps swims for 8 gold medals at the Beijing Olympics (setting 7 new world records in the process) and is later photographed hitting a bong while visiting South Carolina University.
-Barack Obama is elected as the 44th president of the United States of America.


2009



-Cash for clunkers is a domestic program intended to encourage Americans to purchase new cars in an attempt to stimulate the economy.
-Brett Favre, the future NFL Hall of Fame quarterback, returns to the NFL, this time as a member of the Minnesota Vikings.
-Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Orlando Magic to win the NBA Championship. It is the first title for Bryant without Shaquille O'Neal as his teammate.
-Michael Jackson, the pop icon, dies after suffering cardiac arrest on June 25th.
-Jon and Kate Gosselin are consistently a topic on the tabloids after their highly publicized divorce.
-A swine flu outbreak in humans is declared a public health emergency of international concern.
-Crystal meth is a psychoactive stimulant drug that increases alertness and energy, and in high doses can induce euphoria, enhance self esteem, and increase sexual pleasure. It has become increasingly popular in the United States in the 2000s.
-Tiger Woods crashes his Denali into a fire hydrant on November 27th and is taken to the hospital. Shortly thereafter details of Woods' ramped infidelity start to surface.


2010



-The Health Care Reform Bill causes a heated national debate. A new faction of conservatives, known as the Tea Party Movement, ardently oppose the bill which they call "Obamacare". Eventually the bill passes both the House (without a vote?) and the Senate and is signed into law.
-Regulation of the financial industry appears to be the next challenge that President Obama plans to tackle. The call for reform has been expedited in the wake of the SEC charging Goldman Sachs with knowingly selling people investments that were designed to fail.
-Jay Leno kicks Conan O'Brien to the curb and re-assumes his position as the host of The Tonight Show after his 10 p.m. show flops as bad as Vlade Divac.