6/23/08 Picks

Movie Pick:

A GUIDE TO RECOGNIZING YOUR SAINTS

Directed by Dito Montiel and based on his autobiography, it stars Robert Downey Jr. and Shia LeBouf as the young and old versions of Dito. A unique coming of age story that tracks Dito's journey as a youth in Queens. A combination of ambition, influential guides, and sheer luck helps him as he tries to avoid the typical pitfalls that many of his childhood friends fall victim to.

Music Pick:

Cat Stevens - Trouble

LISTEN HERE

Tiger Woods: Why I Love Sports

Now, I don't particularly enjoy watching golf, but when Tiger's in the mix for a Major Championship it's become scheduled viewing. This Sunday, he entered the round at -3, good enough for a one stroke lead. Over the span of 17 holes, he went on to lose the lead in the first two holes, tie, regain the lead, tie again, and lose the lead (to a very likable guy by the way: Rocco Mediate). And with Rocco in the clubhouse with a one stroke lead, Tiger stepped up to a do-or-die 10-foot birdie putt on the 18th green. Definitely not a sure thing. Not this weekend, what with Tiger on a bad wheel and as a result never tapping into that rhythm. The anticipation, the build up, the putt, and the payoff. Remarkable. Grown men sitting silently in bleachers watching another grown man analyze the subtle breaks on a patch of grass. And then they explode. It happened. He went crazy. I went crazy. Double fist pumps. Wow. 

I don't know but I love it.

 

Maybe They Don't Deserve To Win

Pau Gasol, shown above sporting his hockey playoff beard, seems to be doing everything in his power to reinforce the stereotype that all European big men are soft, petrified little girls. Well done, Pau. Go play soccer and give me Kwame Brown back. (Just kidding about that Kwame Brown statement. But seriously, go play soccer.)

As for Kobe Bryant, I just got done watching the Celtics' Game 4 comeback and have to say it's a great illustration of the gap between Kobe and Michael. Especially for the younger ones who didn't get to see Jordan in his prime. Michael does not lose that game. He doesn't allow his team to lose that game. If L.A. ends up losing this series (which is very likely as they have to win 3 straight, 2 of which are in the Garden), then that'll be two Finals appearances Kobe has walked away from without a ring. One of those was with a still dominant Shaq on his team. So please, cease the comparisons. Jordan had that intangible quality about him, that unflinching assurance. His teammates felt it, and that knowledge subsided their fear regardless of the stage. His opponents could sense it like animals do with impending natural disasters. It was just there. The results might as well have been predetermined. It was unavoidable. In his prime, if the Bulls needed to win, they won.

I Want To Be a Jabbawockee When I Grow Up

Seriously. I was late to the party on this one, I know. But having heard the name and never looking them up before, I saw the masked ones make a brief appearance at last Sunday's MTV Movie Awards and thought I'd catch up on the group using the internets. And thanks to the copyright law genocide of the past decade, I found their whole dance 'catalogue' over on YouTube. This included their 7-week run as champions of the Mario Lopez-hosted "America's Best Dance Crew" show.

Here's Week 3:

Nas - Black President

Produced by DJ Green Lantern, Nas' new track, "Black President," is hopefully a sign of things to come for his upcoming album. The album, once titled "Nigger" and now tentatively titled "Nasir," is schedule for a July 1st release date.

The hook features a Tupac sample from "I Wonder If Heaven Got a Ghetto" (and later "Changes"). Great song all around. Cheers to the GOAT.

Listen to it HERE.

Karl Pilkington: Humor in Art

Here's a great clip from the Culture Show, a weekly BBC Two show, following my main man Karl Pilkington as he visits a modern art exhibit aimed at inducing - what turns out to be - very elusive laughter.

The best line comes from Karl at about the 3:40 mark.

The Finals

Think about this for a minute - The Red Sox won the World Series in November, then the Patriots reached the Super Bowl in February and failed to close the door on the first perfect season since 1972, and now the Boston Celtics are in the NBA Finals. Against the Lakers no less! Jesus. If not for an unthinkable New York Giants victory against the Pats, the Celts could be four games away from a Boston Sports 3-peat right now. Now even though I hate Boston (I'm Yanks, Colts, and anti-KG and Ray Allen), I'd almost have to root for Pierce and the boys just to see that. Thankfully though, I don't have to do that.

"Fuck you Red, I got 10" - Phil Jackson in two weeks.

That's right, I got Lakers in 5. They steal Game 1 in the Garden and win Games 3-5 at home. Finals MVP pick: Kobe Bryant. 'Cause quite simply - No one can guard him. One might say that the cohesive team 'D' Boston employed to frustrate LeBron James in the Eastern Semi's is evidence to the contrary. They'd be missing one big difference, however: the fact that David Beckham could drop-kick more outside shots in than LeBron could make with a traditional jumper. Kobe doesn't have that problem, the man can stroke it. Keeping him out of the paint is merely a minor inconvenience. In fact, he might actually prefer shooting those 20-footers so he can reserve his energy for the 4th quarter. Also, the finish line is in his sights now. He can feel it, he can taste it, and he knows what a Shaq-less ring will do for his legacy. Plus he's got troops to go to war with, not to mention his opposition's lack of a super-duper star. (KG is a proven loser, soft, and overrated, Allen is not worthy of comment, and Pierce, while a tough and admirable player, is not skilled enough to be on that level.)

So again, Lakers in 5.

Lakers and Penguins and Kimbo Slice

PITTSBURGH PENGUINS VS. DETROIT RED WINGS

It's Monday night at 1:30 and the Pittsburgh Penguins just beat the Detroit Red Wings in the Third Overtime of Game 5. I don't really follow hockey except during the playoffs but it's games like this that make me realize why I still love sports. First of all, the game was pretty much over with the Wings up 3-2 with less than a minute left in the third period. Max Talbot puts one in with 34 seconds left to send it to OT. After three overtimes of nail-biting hockey, guys sacrificing their bodies to block shots, everybody on the edge of their seat, Petr Sykora puts in the winning goal for a hard-fought Penguins "W." Sykora scored the goal, but it was goalie Marc-Andre Fleury who deserves the credit. My boy (he is now my boy) stopped 57 of 60 shots. Incredible performance. Pittsburgh probably should have lost this game and with it their chance at the Cup. Detroit killed them on shots on goal, peppering my boy especially in the overtimes. Game 6 in two nights. 

KIMBO SLICE

Kimbo Slice, the Rick Ross-looking behemoth of a man, fought his third official MMA fight for EliteXC this past Saturday.

He fought a little-known heavyweight by the name of James "The Colossus" Thompson, not a premier fighter by any stretch. What happened? Kimbo got exposed. After two fights and two quick KO's, Kimbo's third fight saw him traversing unfamiliar territory - the ground game. If any quality fighter gets him to the mat, with his current skill sets as they are, he's done. That's what we learned Saturday night. A lot of people had said this, but the guy with the water balloon of blood clipped to his ear proved it. Standing up, he can fight with anyone, I'll give him that. Develop a ground game and he could be dangerous, similar to LeBron learning to shoot or adding a post-up game. The only difference is that Kimbo is in his 30's and so the clock is ticking for this rookie MMA fighter. With that said, I'm definitely rooting for him.

By the way, check out THIS VIDEO of a Brett Rogers/Kimbo Slice post-fight press conference confrontation.

I'll be back with the Lakers/Celtics portion before Game 1 on Thursday. 

Tha Carter III: The True GOATs Need Not Worry

Not you LL Cool J. To Nas, Jay, Lupe, Budden, and Common, among others: I doubt you were worried but on the off-chance that you were, rest assured, Weezy F.'s proclamation of "best rapper alive" is simply baseless ambition. 

I've been listening to Lil' Wayne's much anticipated "Tha Carter III" for the past few days now. The album, which leaked last Friday, is sadly indistinguishable from a typical Weezy mixtape. By that I mean, the guy is sloppy as shit. Just fuckin' sloppy. The opposite of taut. And any Wayne fan will tell you that's part of his charm, that exaggerated swagger of his. I agree to an extent but I guess in the back of my mind, I assumed that for an ALBUM he'd take it more serious. You know, abandon the rambling, stay on topic, avoid the ridiculous lyrics and tangents that you can get away with on mixtapes because, well, they're mixtapes.

With that said, Tha Carter III isn't without its heat. 'Mr. Carter' featuring Jay-Z has the surname sharers both coming ridiculously nice with their respective verses. 'Tie My Hands' with Robin Thicke, 'Shoot Me Down,' 'Playin' With Fire,' and even 'Let the Beat Build' are all tracks I can see myself listening to for a while.

In conclusion, I don't know, it's no Carter II. Not even close, really. Still, props to Wayne for a rather solid album. He is a funny ass dude though. We'll end on my favorite hilarious line of his:

"I told her toolbox: Bitch, it's hammer time."

Really? Thankfully, no Gremlin references on this one though.

6.5 out of 10.