Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
In the West, it looks like Phoenix is going to be on the outside looking in as the Suns have lost 3 in a row and sit 3 games back of 8th place Dallas. For a solid 4-5 years, the Suns reigned as one of the top teams in the West but those days are long gone. Over the last couple of years, GM Steve Kerr revamped the roster by trading for Shaq, shipping out Boris Diaw and Raja Bell, and with Amare up for free agency this summer and Nash not getting any younger, I think Phoenix’s days as a powerhouse sit far back in the rearview.
On the other side of the coin, we have Denver, who unlike Phoenix, is turning it up at the right time. The Nuggs are currently 8-2 in their last 10 and everybody appears to be healthy. A big part of Denver’s success can be credited to Birdman Andersen who is almost averaging a double-double over his last 5. For those of you not familiar with “The Birdman”, the dude has quite the story to tell. After dropping out of the University of Houston and then going undrafted in ’99, he took off across the pond and started his career in China. His energy and shot-blocking ability eventually landed him a shot with the New Orleans Hornets but he was expelled from the League in 2006 after violating the League’s anti-drug policy. The particular substance was only identified as a “drug of abuse” which means it wasn’t a performance enhancing drug or weed. After a 2-year hiatus, Andersen was re-instated and subsequently signed by Denver at the start of the season. Now he sits among the league leaders in blocked shots, second only to Dwight.
So as I watching Lebron almost get his 8th triple-double of the season vs. Dallas, I wondered if anyone will ever be able to touch Oscar Robertson’s record of 181 (41 in one season). As I was perusing, I also found a few more records that I found particularily intriguing…
Most 50-point games in a season: 45, Wilt in 1961 (this is just ridiculous)
Most minutes in a game – 69, Dale Ellis in 5OT marathon in 1989
Most assists in a game – 30, Scott Skiles in 1990 (“I got more dimes than that sprint lady” – Big L)
Most consecutive foul-outs – 6, Don Boven in 1951
Most consecutive seasons leading the league in rebounding – 7, Dennis Rodman (The Worm!)
Most pts in a half (playoffs) – 39, Eric Floyd in 1987
With the regular season winding down, the race to the MVP seems to be a 3-horse race between ‘Bron, Flash and Kobe. Pretty much all the coverage that I’ve seen only covers those 3 dudes but what about Dwight or Tony Parker? Personally, my vote goes to ‘Bron, but Dwight has been killing it all season and currently has the Magic riding a 6 game win-streak even with their starting point-guard sitting beside the Gatorade man. From a stats perspective, he’s putting up 21 and 14 which is just beastly and has the Magic sitting ahead of the defending champs. In the West, TP has the Spurs sitting in the #2 spot and has put up some of the most ridiculous stat-lines in the L this year. Last week alone he went for 30 and 10 against G-State and then followed it up with a monsterous 42 and 10 on the road in Atlanta the next night…and don’t forget his 55 and 10 back in November or his 37 and 12 vs. Dallas in February. As I mentioned before, ‘Bron gets my vote because of his extraordinarily dominant numbers and the fact he has the Cavs sitting as the best team in the league, but there’s no denying that both Dwight and Tony deserve some recognition here.
The East playoff race is slowly grinding to a halt with another team falling off the radar each week. The Raps, Knicks and Pacers are pretty much done and Jersey slipped this past week which begs the question: Where do they go from here? The Nets have some young guys to build a solid foundation around (Harris, Brook Lopez, Yi) but other than Harris, the other guys are still unproven. They also have a bunch of average spot minute guys like Trenton Hassel, Jarvis Hayes, Eduardo Najera, Keyon Dooling and Josh Boone, and quite frankly, too many roster fillers. Another thing that hurts them is the fact that 12 guys on their current roster are signed for next year, including Vince who is bringing in huge money until 2011/2012 (he’s good, but not $16+ mill good). Also, doesn’t it seem like the Nets’ fans are always louder for opposing squads?
Exhibit A: Kobe Bryant…
Anyways, that’s all from this end, but here’s a couple highlights to send you guys off with…
K-Mart on…Rob Kurz??? Welcome to the L bud…
I’m out like Shaq’s chance at another ring…
-Gliz
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Word, heathens!
Man, what the fuck is the deal with Nellie/Jamal Crawford in G-State? These two guys have been going back and forth for the last little while and Nellie has pretty much said that Crawford should just start packing his shit because he won’t be back in Golden State next year. Crawford didn’t see a tick of court time last week (he’s not even dressing anymore) and his agent has even been going at Nellie in the media. Now I know Nellie is cut from a different cloth and you just have to take him with a grain of salt, but at some point there has to be some compromise. Only time will tell where Crawford’s 20 ppg will end up next year.
All hail Big Pops! You gotta love this guys hustle. Since joining the Raps after a solid stint in the D-League (where he put up 26 and 13) his presence has been felt immediately. He’s currently putting up 7 and 7 in only 17 mins. of burn (JK puts up 8 and 2 in 23 mins) and is 4th in the L in rebounds per 48 minutes. The dude is still young and unpolished but he’s got the drive and hustle that you can’t teach. If Colangelo doesn’t sign him to at least a 1-year contract, then I’m cheering for the T-Wolves next year.
Anyways y’all, that’s it from this end, but check back next week as the playoff picture will be pretty much formed.
I’m out like Jamal in GS.
-Gliz
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
A MESSAGE FROM ANAYA HAYES!
Hey Hey!,
First of all...I Must say! THANK YOU for being a part of my group!
Let me re-introduce myself if we don't know each other formally...My name's Anaya and I'm a recording artist/model from Toronto.
I recently moved out to New York City! And I'm working my butt off in the Big Apple...Vocal Training, Dance Lessons and Hitting the Gym...Not to mention Studio Sessions!
I'm writing this note to ask you to Please show some Love and Vote for me!
I'm nominated for "R&B Artist of The Year" @ the FIRST EVER WBLK Unsigned Hype Awards!
CLICK HERE TO VOTE!:
http://www.wblk.com/unsignedhypeawardsvoting/tabid/9366/Default.aspx
Also, Last year I was nominated for "Female R&B SIngle of The Year" for my first single "Want It" @ the Stylus Awards..I'd LOVE to be nominated again this year for my 2nd single "Love Me", but I can't do it without YOUR HELP!!!!
Please click HERE & NOMINATE ME!
http://www.stylusgroup.ca/
...& You Can Check My Music Out Here:
http://www.Myspace.com/AnayaHayesMusicSpace
Thank you for all your continued support & all the Love!I appreciate you soooo much!
MUAH!!!
Anaya
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Download Link: JD ERA "Take Off" Feat. Saukrates
JD ERA RELEASES NEW HIT SINGLE “TAKE OFF” FEATURING SAUKRATES
(TORONTO, ON) – 10-Mar-09
JD Era, dubbed Prince of the North, teams up with industry veteran Saukrates to release “Take Off” his new hit single! As the premiere cut from Era’s forthcoming album due out later this year, this catchy track will leave fans chanting the hook, humming the beat and wanting more! DJs load it in and just hit replay…get ready for take off!!!
The full length album is titled after this first single and also boasts production by Saukrates in addition to Beat Merchant, local 16 year old prodigy Arion, and Spinz. Once fans have fastened their seatbelts and prepared for take off, JD plans to hit the airwaves with another hit and this time it will be a little something especially for the ladies. Propelled by these two tracks JD Era has hopes of soaring high and he expects to drop his completed album in mid June 2009.
In the last two years this talented emcee has performed alongside artists like Nas, Pretty Ricki, K-OS, Kardinall Offisial and The Clipse. In 2008 he was nominated for two DJ Stylus Awards, took home the hardware for Best Rap at the Toronto Independent Music Awards, was crowned the winner of the TAG Records’ Survival of The Freshest competition, and has his mixtape “Coming To America” nominated as Best Mixtape for Flow 93.5’s Real Frequency Awards. This past year JD also appeared in the May issue of the well-known “Black Men’s Magazine,” signed a highly successful US ringtone deal with UrbMob., and spent about 2 months living and working on his music in New York City.
With a trademark “in your face” approach and developed flow JD Era is well on his way to infiltrating the music industry worldwide. Creatively bridging the underground and the mainstream worlds, his elaborate wordplay and clever sound have already distinguished him from all the rest in the streets and on the stage. People get ready because the “Prince of The North,” is about to become king of the rap game!
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Monday, March 2, 2009
Greetings from the confines of my kitchen…
I’ve been away in Ottawa since Thursday so I didn’t really catch much ball over the weekend, however, that doesn’t make the playoff race any less intriguing.
The West looks like a zoo with 8 teams fighting for the last 7 spots. The Lakers are the only team who have really taken care of business and only 5.5 games separate the #2 seeded Spurs and the #9 Suns. It’s kinda crazy because a team like Houston or Denver could be holding down home court advantage this week, and then by next week not even be in a playoff spot. The East on the other hand is the polar opposite, with all of the top seeds pretty much secured and then 9 teams fighting for the last 3 spots or so.
One of those teams fighting for a playoff birth are the Charlotte Bobcats who have quietly assembled a well-balanced team and are making a subtle push for the post-season. At the time of this writing, they are only 3 games behind 8th place Milwaukee and with 15 of their last 22 games against sub-500 squads, they have a legit shot. The Bobcats went 3-1 last week and have some key guys stepping up. Boris Diaw averaged 22 chips a game over 4 games last week and both Okafor and Crash went for 16 and 9 over that same stretch. Ray Felton also went for 13 and 9 dimes last week and they also have a little bit of depth with guys like Vlad Radmonovic and Raja Bell playing well in addition to the development of D.J Augustin. The only thing that might hinder this squad is the fact that they play back-to-backs in 5 of their next 6 weekends.
Another team in the midst of the Eastern Conference playoff hunt is the Indiana Pacers who have been receiving huge performances from ‘The Ugly Duckling’ Troy Murphy. Murphy could always play (he’s averaging a double-double this year) and he IS getting paid a shitload of money but he’s been playing out of his mind as of late. Over the past week, Murphy averaged 19 chips to go along with 16 boards, capping it off with a 22 and 19 effort against the Nuggs.
So the Pistons brass must’ve read the blog from a few weeks ago and have said that AI will come off the bench once he returns from injury. The Pistons have been playing much better since AI went on the injured list a few games ago and all 5 starters scored in double-figures in their win against Boston on Sunday.
Speaking of Boston, Stephon Marbury is back! Fuck, as if it took this long for that saga in NYC to end. He’s now suiting up for the Celts after the Knicks decided to cut their losses and rid them of the soap-opera that is Starbury. Upon his arrival in Beantown, coach Doc Rivers told him not to worry about fitting with the team when it comes to the game, but to make sure he was fitting in the dressing room. At this point in Steph’s career, I think he’ll take the high road and be glad to accept any role Doc has lined up for him which I’m guessing will be the back-up role behind Rondo. With current back-up Gabe Pruitt taking the boob-of-the-week award for a recent DUI incident, there will be plenty of minutes kicking around for Steph. He dropped 8 pts. and 2 dimes in his Celtics debut on Friday but was much less effective in Sunday’s loss to the Pistons.
Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego? Whoops, I mean Eddie Jones. Remember him? The 2-time all-star who used to kill it with the Lakers in the mid-late 90’s? Well he’s sitting at home right now in quasi-retirement after he started the season injured and just never really found his spot with the Pacers. Well, now that the deadline has passed and teams are looking at the waiver wire to see who they could pick up to help with a playoff surge, would you consider EJ an option? The guy has played 15 seasons, ranks 5th all-time in 3-pointers made and has over 80 playoff games under his belt…and even though his numbers have declined significantly with decreased minutes, he might be good to have around a group of young guys. Whether or not someone picks him up, here’s our ode to EJ…
Did anyone catch Brian Scalabrine getting injured the other night? He ended up with a mild concussion and a strained neck after a defender came down on him after a pump fake. It was kinda hilarious. I tried finding the clip but all I could find was this (which I may have posted a while back)…
So as one superstar goes on the injured list, another is close to a return. Gilbert Arenas is finally practicing with full contact after 3 knee surgeries in the last 2 years. It’s still uncertain whether he’ll suit up for the Wiz this year since their season is already in the tank but it’s good to see Gil at least taking his time to come back. He tried coming back early last year and ended up needing another surgery so my guess is that he’ll wait until next year to make his return…afterall, we all know what happened to T-Mac. While his return is in question, this superfan’s love certainly is not…I’m still not sure what to think haha…
I’m out like Scal…
Gliz

