The Return of the Yard Dog

I've been watching basketball for some time now. Everyone knows I'm a fan of the Lakers, and a large reason I became such fervent fan was The Diesel. Shaq. The Big Catcus. Superman (you can't just steal that name from Shaq Daddy, Dwight!). Man of Steel. On and on the nicknames go. He was an act of God in the paint. Even the "hack-a-Shaq" defense didn't phase him. He was just so damn powerful and big that centers across the league simply became a prison yard bitch for-- at the time-- number 34. In addition, when he started his career, Shaq dominated and humilated even future legends like Hakeem, Robinson, and Ewing.

But the past couple of years... well, Shaq has become semi-geriatric on the court. Slow to get up. Slow to rebounds. No spring in his step. No dynamite in his legs. It's depressing to watch Shaq decline. I never really realized how much I like Shaq until after watching a game last year where he struggled to take care of business. I saddened. I almost couldn't watch an idol and defining player like Shaq just not play like he should be. I missed him just barrelling through the lane to dunk on some tool... or not because everyone got the fuck out of the way. But that seems to be changing some.

After watching him light up the Lake Show, calling Chris Bosh the RuPaul of basketball, and playing better than Dwight Howard, an emerging force in his own right; my faith is being restored. It feels good to know the rightful order of the universe is slowing returning for Shaq. I love seeing the fear in centers return because they know they are going home bruised after the game. I like that analysists are back to talking about how teams will handle O'Neal. Now, I want to see him perform. The All-Star game showed he still has some in the tank, but the last week or so has proven it.

I only hope the amazing Phoenix staff (see links below) can keep Shaqtus moving at this pace. It's funny that Shaq said he never wanted to stay passed his welcome in the NBA. It's hard for me to imagine basketball without the Diesel. Even if his movies never were that good (same for the albums-- which I have by the way hehe), he's always been an amazing entertainer. I just don't see anyone picking up the torch of being the whole package like he is. Maybe, some new rookie will appear and shock the NBA back to life after Shaq retires. Maybe. But in the mean time...

I missed you big guy-- even if you aren't on my team anymore.

Here's some articles for more detail on this:

http://slamonline.com/online/nba/2009/01/shaqs-revival/

http://www.nba.com/2009/news/features/03/03/thomas.shaq.20090303/index.html

T4 Trailer

Click the title link for a slightly crisper version. Here's the new sweetness from Terminator Salvation. An interesting little twist I was unaware of with the beginning of the machines' use of [engage Ahnud voice] CYBERNETIC ORGANISMS [disengage] and the ramifications of such a tactic. This and the new Trek trailer are playing in front of Watchmen this weekend. I'm going to the midnight showing on Thursday with a bunch of REI people. I hope no one dresses up as Dr. Manhattan...

Muzak: Week 3

Back with another addition!

Green Eyes by Discover America: I actually discovered this band at the same concert I fell in love with MuteMath. Funny, they drove over 24 hrs straight from Seattle to make the show, and the lead singer was so tired he forgot the words to a song. He just apologized and asked for a beer. Good times.

End of the World by Armor For Sleep: So, I've known about these guys forever. Seen them. Talked with them. Good guys. This is off their latest album, but their other stuff is definitely good if you enjoy that style.

Minerva by Deftones: Yeah, yeah. This has been out for long time, and everyone has probably heard it. It just popped in my head the other day and would not go away! Still good...

Rainbow by G. Love & Jack Johnson: Typical style of these two. Just a damn happy song. I can't help but feel better after listening to this song.

Leave by Glen Hansard: Easily one of the most emotional songs I've ever heard. If you haven't seen Once, I recommend you check it out. A very... subtle movie with a great soundtrack.

Anhedonia by The Graduate: These guys are kinda dance/pop rock. I wanted to put up Interlude but couldn't find it. Oh, well. Lyrics are kinda blah, but I enjoy the music.

Paris by Groove Armada: This song isn't necessarily typical of them. They really push more into club soundtrack, but this song has a nice feel to it.

Lately by Helio Sequence: Again, this song just popped into my head the other day. Nice, chill band in the vein of indie rock and Coldplay.

It's Always Better by I Hate Kate: I know this band is pretty popular in the Midwest (from what I hear), so I don't know if you've heard of them. A fun, fun song. Like I said in a comment: sometimes I just need to hear a fun song!

Waves by Jay Dilla/Jay Dee: Undoubtedly, you've probably heard this song on an AdultSwim buffer. He's a DJ by trade and does some occasional rapping. Beforewarned: Jay Dee has some awesome instrumental albums with great samples, but his albums with rapping are TERRIBLE. Just warning you not to judge him on these albums.

Questions? Comments? Good.

A Terrifying Vision of the Future

Do you guys really think that the things Simmons is predicting here will come true?

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/090227

I really want to just dismiss many of his bold predictions as untrue, but as Simmons often does, he backs up his points with extensive research and convincing anecdotes and sources and historical precedence. Do you think some NBA teams are going to go under? Do you think that, as he claims, 2 or 3 or more teams will be forced to relocate? What about the claim that 15 NHL teams will go under? Most importantly, do you think we have an unavoidable lockout coming in a couple years?

I hope he's wrong, I really do.