Being back at work is odd. Cool in a way... but odd.
I got home and finished watching Season One of the UK Office and then wrapped up watching Season 2 of Battlestar Galactica. We started to watch Season 2.5 and then decided to wait.
So, with all that going on, I almost completely forgot to post on here.
I need to go to sleep since Day Two of training is tomorrow so with that in mind...
Do you hear that ringing?
CAUSE I'M PHONIN' IT IN!
Yeah, I'd go see it - and you all know you would too.
2008-06-21
2008-06-20
Top Five Friday: Entourage Guest Spots
With my first day of work in a long, long while tomorrow, I'm not much in the mood for a lengthy post tonight. I wanted something easy and simple.
Earlier this week, we finished watching Season 3 of Entourage - so we're basically caught up until Season 4 emerges on DVD in August. I was rewatching a couple episodes earlier today on On Demand and noted that the show has had some killer cameo/guest spots from celebrities over the past few season.
With that in mind...
The Top Five Entourage Cameo/Guest Spots
NOTE: To qualify, the celebrity had to have been playing themselves so no Rainn Wilson.
5. Gary Busey
You've gotta love a celebrity that knows how to laugh at themselves. Busey knows damn well that everyone thinks he's fucking out of his gourd these days and he apparently relishes in it. How could you not love Busey standing on the sand staring out at the ocean and waxing philosophic to anyone who would listen? Plus the Ari interaction with him? Now _that_ is comedic gold, baby.
4. Seth Green
The wife really wanted me to keep him off the list because she was so annoyed by him during his couple of episodes - especially the Vegas one. But the idea of Seth Green rollin' with his posse, making snide comments at people and having all these big guys with him as backup cracked me up. Besides, it gives me the chance to tell my Seth Green story! Okay, so at Comic-Con a few years ago, we wandered back to the hotel to rest up a bit before the night time programming. As we get over by the elevators, we notice Seth Green chatting up two women. After a bit, he wanders away from them and is replaced by, presumably, his assistant who proceeds to attempt to hook Seth up with a threesome later in the night by telling the lovely ladies what room he's in and what time they can come by. Hollywood, baby... Hollywood.
3. Chuck Liddell
It's not like Chuck set the acting world on fire with his appearance on the show but he did what he does - he looked like a badass who might kick your head off the rest of your body. Hey, Johnny Drama bought it. YOU GOT GOT!
2. Mandy Moore
Shit, do I really need a reason? It's Mandy Moore! Mandy Moore who does cute little Grease-esque duets with Ben Lee on his album. Mandy Moore who was so awesome in American Dreamz. Mandy Moore who plays little clubs in LA like it ain't no thang. Mandy Moore who shows up in the crowd at UFC events. IT'S MANDY MOORE! Who can blame Vince for being lovestruck?
1. BOB SAGET!
I love Bob Saget - not like I love Mandy Moore but I love Bob Saget. Ever since I saw his standup special several months ago, I'm convinced that Bob Saget is a strong contender for the most bizarrely, amazingly awesome career renaissance in history. From making a shitload of cash on Full House and that fucked up Home Video shit to telling dirty jokes about fingering Kimmie Gibler in the ass and appearing on Entourage to smoke weed and fuck hookers. Simply the best.
Earlier this week, we finished watching Season 3 of Entourage - so we're basically caught up until Season 4 emerges on DVD in August. I was rewatching a couple episodes earlier today on On Demand and noted that the show has had some killer cameo/guest spots from celebrities over the past few season.
With that in mind...
The Top Five Entourage Cameo/Guest Spots
NOTE: To qualify, the celebrity had to have been playing themselves so no Rainn Wilson.
5. Gary Busey
You've gotta love a celebrity that knows how to laugh at themselves. Busey knows damn well that everyone thinks he's fucking out of his gourd these days and he apparently relishes in it. How could you not love Busey standing on the sand staring out at the ocean and waxing philosophic to anyone who would listen? Plus the Ari interaction with him? Now _that_ is comedic gold, baby.
4. Seth Green
The wife really wanted me to keep him off the list because she was so annoyed by him during his couple of episodes - especially the Vegas one. But the idea of Seth Green rollin' with his posse, making snide comments at people and having all these big guys with him as backup cracked me up. Besides, it gives me the chance to tell my Seth Green story! Okay, so at Comic-Con a few years ago, we wandered back to the hotel to rest up a bit before the night time programming. As we get over by the elevators, we notice Seth Green chatting up two women. After a bit, he wanders away from them and is replaced by, presumably, his assistant who proceeds to attempt to hook Seth up with a threesome later in the night by telling the lovely ladies what room he's in and what time they can come by. Hollywood, baby... Hollywood.
3. Chuck Liddell
It's not like Chuck set the acting world on fire with his appearance on the show but he did what he does - he looked like a badass who might kick your head off the rest of your body. Hey, Johnny Drama bought it. YOU GOT GOT!
2. Mandy Moore
Shit, do I really need a reason? It's Mandy Moore! Mandy Moore who does cute little Grease-esque duets with Ben Lee on his album. Mandy Moore who was so awesome in American Dreamz. Mandy Moore who plays little clubs in LA like it ain't no thang. Mandy Moore who shows up in the crowd at UFC events. IT'S MANDY MOORE! Who can blame Vince for being lovestruck?
1. BOB SAGET!
I love Bob Saget - not like I love Mandy Moore but I love Bob Saget. Ever since I saw his standup special several months ago, I'm convinced that Bob Saget is a strong contender for the most bizarrely, amazingly awesome career renaissance in history. From making a shitload of cash on Full House and that fucked up Home Video shit to telling dirty jokes about fingering Kimmie Gibler in the ass and appearing on Entourage to smoke weed and fuck hookers. Simply the best.
2008-06-19
I'm Gonna DJ At The End Of The World
A while back, I mentioned how cool I thought the idea of KCRW's Guest DJ Project was. Today, I stumbled upon the fact that they are actually archiving the Guest DJ sets online so I took a moment to listen in.
It's still cool - but not as cool as I had hoped for. I had envisioned John Cusack sitting alone in the studio just playing music and talking about why. But the actuality of it is that he's in the studio being interviewed by a DJ about the music he picked and why he picked it... and in the killer of it all, they're only playing snippets of the music which blows.
Anyways... still a neat idea - just not executed like it should've been. Here's the Cusack set if you want an idea of what it was like.
It's still cool - but not as cool as I had hoped for. I had envisioned John Cusack sitting alone in the studio just playing music and talking about why. But the actuality of it is that he's in the studio being interviewed by a DJ about the music he picked and why he picked it... and in the killer of it all, they're only playing snippets of the music which blows.
Anyways... still a neat idea - just not executed like it should've been. Here's the Cusack set if you want an idea of what it was like.
Random MMA Discussion
At the Wrestling Observer, they had a post where several MMA "experts" discussed a few issues going on in that world at the moment. So, I figured "What a fantastic post idea to steal!"...
...or something like that.
UFC vs Affliction
In case you haven't heard, the UFC decided to put on another free show on Spike. This one will be held on July 19th - the same night, of course, that Affliction is having their debut PPV.
I'm actually of mixed opinion on this. On one hand, it seems like the UFC is getting dangerously close to watering down their own product. It just seems like there's so much UFC on TV now, it's getting a little excessive. You just had a PPV with a shoddy lineup and a very weak main event that you made people drop $40 for and now you're giving out a free show with Anderson Silva? Something's wrong there.
On the other hand, cross-promoting your own show against the competition's has been a long-standing tradition in all sports - especially combat sports. Vince McMahon and Jim Crockett [later Ted Turner/Eric Bischoff] did it to one another to varying degrees of success for years. Affliction is the first promotion that looks like a legitimate threat [talent-wise] to the UFC so why not go for a kill shot before they get going?
Me? I'm still more interested in the Affliction show. Not sure I'm $40 interested but interested nonetheless.
Anderson Silva: 205
Again, if you're unaware, the aforementioned UFC show is going to be headlined by Anderson Silva making his debut in the Light Heavyweight division against James Irvin. Personally, I think this is a bad, bad idea. I understand that the well is running dry for legit Middleweight contenders for Silva to face but you're not having him vacate the Middleweight title so that situation is still unresolved.
I think this is a very risky move. You have a dominant Middleweight Champion that many people tune into to see the wild knockouts. The guy is getting some Mike Tyson-esque buzz. He has gotten so much attention, even the boxing world has taken notice of him. He seems like an opportunity to create a lasting, unique superstar for your promotion.
There was a rumored Silva/Liddell fight for a while. I didn't think that was a good idea either but I liked it better than this. If you do that fight, you promote it as a one-off fight for Silva, testing himself. You draw a MASSIVE buyrate and really don't lose anything no matter the winner. In the Irvin fight, it's a lose-lose situation. If Silva wins, he beat a nobody in the division and proved nothing more than he would have if you'd fed him another Middleweight. If he loses, uh oh... you potentially killed a cash cow.
Honestly, I would have rather seen Silva go the other way, dropping down in weight to take on GSP. Arguably the two best pound for pound fighters in the world going at it? That's a money match too. But maybe they're going to actually let BJ Penn make that challenge now.
Anyways, I usually think Dana is pretty smart with the matches they choose to promote - this isn't one of them.
TUF Finale
Eh. TUF has lost a lot of the magic for me over the past few seasons. At this point, almost none of the fighters do anything to distinguish themselves from the rest. That first season had characters that you could love/hate - hell, I still hate Koscheck and Bobby Southworth to this day when I see them fight. Most of the seasons since then have just been dry in that respect. For a show like this to succeed, not only do the fights need to be interesting - but the people in them need to be interesting too. And lately, they just don't have the kind of characters that you can get behind.
Granted, the two finalists are probably the most interesting. You can get behind Amir because he's inexperienced and looks to be way in over his head. You can rally behind a guy who looks like he should have no chance in hell yet somehow keeps on winning. And CB is a dick. No doubt about that. So, you can root against him.
But there's just something missing. I can't quite put my finger on it but I just don't feel a strong attachment to anyone from this show.
Oh, and last night's show with that jackass getting kicked out of the UFC after the show was over was just ridiculous. Does the UFC realize they don't do themselves any favors when they show these guys get drunk and act like idiots destroying the house every season? The first couple of seasons it was interesting - now it's just embarrassing to watch. There's a reason a lot of people look down on MMA competitors and when the people striving to be the next big MMA star do shit like that, we can see why.
...or something like that.
UFC vs Affliction
In case you haven't heard, the UFC decided to put on another free show on Spike. This one will be held on July 19th - the same night, of course, that Affliction is having their debut PPV.
I'm actually of mixed opinion on this. On one hand, it seems like the UFC is getting dangerously close to watering down their own product. It just seems like there's so much UFC on TV now, it's getting a little excessive. You just had a PPV with a shoddy lineup and a very weak main event that you made people drop $40 for and now you're giving out a free show with Anderson Silva? Something's wrong there.
On the other hand, cross-promoting your own show against the competition's has been a long-standing tradition in all sports - especially combat sports. Vince McMahon and Jim Crockett [later Ted Turner/Eric Bischoff] did it to one another to varying degrees of success for years. Affliction is the first promotion that looks like a legitimate threat [talent-wise] to the UFC so why not go for a kill shot before they get going?
Me? I'm still more interested in the Affliction show. Not sure I'm $40 interested but interested nonetheless.
Anderson Silva: 205
Again, if you're unaware, the aforementioned UFC show is going to be headlined by Anderson Silva making his debut in the Light Heavyweight division against James Irvin. Personally, I think this is a bad, bad idea. I understand that the well is running dry for legit Middleweight contenders for Silva to face but you're not having him vacate the Middleweight title so that situation is still unresolved.
I think this is a very risky move. You have a dominant Middleweight Champion that many people tune into to see the wild knockouts. The guy is getting some Mike Tyson-esque buzz. He has gotten so much attention, even the boxing world has taken notice of him. He seems like an opportunity to create a lasting, unique superstar for your promotion.
There was a rumored Silva/Liddell fight for a while. I didn't think that was a good idea either but I liked it better than this. If you do that fight, you promote it as a one-off fight for Silva, testing himself. You draw a MASSIVE buyrate and really don't lose anything no matter the winner. In the Irvin fight, it's a lose-lose situation. If Silva wins, he beat a nobody in the division and proved nothing more than he would have if you'd fed him another Middleweight. If he loses, uh oh... you potentially killed a cash cow.
Honestly, I would have rather seen Silva go the other way, dropping down in weight to take on GSP. Arguably the two best pound for pound fighters in the world going at it? That's a money match too. But maybe they're going to actually let BJ Penn make that challenge now.
Anyways, I usually think Dana is pretty smart with the matches they choose to promote - this isn't one of them.
TUF Finale
Eh. TUF has lost a lot of the magic for me over the past few seasons. At this point, almost none of the fighters do anything to distinguish themselves from the rest. That first season had characters that you could love/hate - hell, I still hate Koscheck and Bobby Southworth to this day when I see them fight. Most of the seasons since then have just been dry in that respect. For a show like this to succeed, not only do the fights need to be interesting - but the people in them need to be interesting too. And lately, they just don't have the kind of characters that you can get behind.
Granted, the two finalists are probably the most interesting. You can get behind Amir because he's inexperienced and looks to be way in over his head. You can rally behind a guy who looks like he should have no chance in hell yet somehow keeps on winning. And CB is a dick. No doubt about that. So, you can root against him.
But there's just something missing. I can't quite put my finger on it but I just don't feel a strong attachment to anyone from this show.
Oh, and last night's show with that jackass getting kicked out of the UFC after the show was over was just ridiculous. Does the UFC realize they don't do themselves any favors when they show these guys get drunk and act like idiots destroying the house every season? The first couple of seasons it was interesting - now it's just embarrassing to watch. There's a reason a lot of people look down on MMA competitors and when the people striving to be the next big MMA star do shit like that, we can see why.
2008-06-18
A Comment On Comments
Just a quick note...
One of my old posts (Top Five Friday: "Crosstown" Rivals) got picked up by an Angels fan site message board earlier today which caused a surge in traffic and a shower of comments on that post.
First, don't ask me how a month plus old post suddenly got noticed by an Angel fan site but hey, I can believe they've been reading it that long and finally just finished it. [Cheap shot, I know]
Second, I appreciate the comments [most of them] and I'll probably actually respond to them at some point just for giggles. So, keep 'em coming.
Lastly, I approved every comment that came through on the Dodgers/Angels today - even if it was just a total flame. Things like "DODGERS SUCK HAIRY DONKEY DICK!" isn't exactly a piece of great reading but hey... you took the time to write it, I'll let someone else read it if they want.
The exception is the one I just got - the only comment for the day I didn't post. I'm not sure what the commenter was hoping to accomplish but insulting the race and ethnicity of some Dodger fans seems over the line to me so I don't think it merits posting. If you want to re-submit without the racebaiting slurs, more power to ya, pal.
All in all, quite the fun day here at the B-Spot. Keep the love comin', Angel fans.
One of my old posts (Top Five Friday: "Crosstown" Rivals) got picked up by an Angels fan site message board earlier today which caused a surge in traffic and a shower of comments on that post.
First, don't ask me how a month plus old post suddenly got noticed by an Angel fan site but hey, I can believe they've been reading it that long and finally just finished it. [Cheap shot, I know]
Second, I appreciate the comments [most of them] and I'll probably actually respond to them at some point just for giggles. So, keep 'em coming.
Lastly, I approved every comment that came through on the Dodgers/Angels today - even if it was just a total flame. Things like "DODGERS SUCK HAIRY DONKEY DICK!" isn't exactly a piece of great reading but hey... you took the time to write it, I'll let someone else read it if they want.
The exception is the one I just got - the only comment for the day I didn't post. I'm not sure what the commenter was hoping to accomplish but insulting the race and ethnicity of some Dodger fans seems over the line to me so I don't think it merits posting. If you want to re-submit without the racebaiting slurs, more power to ya, pal.
All in all, quite the fun day here at the B-Spot. Keep the love comin', Angel fans.
What Can You Say?
I really don't want to talk about it but I will... once... just because I should wrap up the season. So, this is my final Laker post of the 2007-08 season.
What can you say?
They stunk up the joint. On offense, on defense, on rebounding, on hustle, on... well, pretty much any aspect of the game you can think of. They didn't look sharp. They didn't look hungry. And they didn't look like they wanted it bad enough.
I was furious last night - I won't lie. It was one of the most disappointing series I've ever seen. You can "what if" yourself to death being a sports fan at times but there are a lot of "What ifs" in this series that could've wrapped it up the other way. It didn't - but it could have.
I'm not mad about the loss. I'm disappointed by the loss.
What I'm mad about is the lack of intensity, heart, and pride from the team.
There was a point in Game 5 when I saw a Laker pass get deflected by a diving James Posey and my immediate thought was there were probably three or four players on the Lakers who would even think of doing something like that. That sums up the whole series in a nutshell, I think. They just got outexecuted and outhustled over and over.
I was upset that the Laker stood around all series and watched people drive to the rim freely - and no one ever thought to deliver a hard foul to make the Celtics think twice about it. I was upset that while the Celtics continued to rain down threes, running up the score in garbage time, that no Laker even looked slightly offended by it. I was upset that the Celtics spent about four minutes of the game celebrating on the sidelines, hugging, posing for pictures, throwing Gatorade on the floor, etc... basically everything short of a circle jerk... and no Laker looked upset at all.
There was a serious lack of pride and intensity throughout the series - something the Lakers will need to drastically change if they intend to be back in the Finals next year.
Now, for the good news...
Like my Laker fan brethren who came before me, I can now claim a strong hatred for the Boston Celtics.
I hate Doc Rivers and his "rah rah rah" speeches filled with cliches and statements that mean absolutely nothing. I hate people claiming he's a better coach than Phil Jackson based off six games.
I hate Kevin Garnett and his chest pounding and his screaming at the ceiling like an idiot.
I hate Ray Allen. After all the shit he's talked about Kobe in the past, it makes me sick that he got a ring at our expense.
I hate Paul Pierce and his "I heard a pop" theatrics that made him into some kind of a superhero in the media.
I hate Sam Cassell - always have - and the thought of him getting a ring off of u makes me physically ill.
I could go on but I won't. Suffice to say that if the Lakers are even slightly as pissed as I am at the memory of the entire Celtics team spending half the fourth quarter on the sideline celebrating while the game was still going on, the next time the teams meet should be very interesting.
So, where do the Lakers go from here?
I'm guessing trades will be explored for Vlad, Walton, Odom. I don't think Walton will be movable. Vlad might be a possibility but it'll be tough unless we take someone's bad salary back in exchange. Odom's the big trade chip - big expiring salary, solid player. A lot of teams should be interested in him. Farmar is probably a trading chip as well.
I'm pretty confident that they'll be able to re-sign Sasha and Ronny. Everyone else [Mihm, Mbenga, Newble] is probably gone. Ariza will probably stick as well.
The early chatter is about Ron Artest possibly opting out and pursuing a midlevel deal somewhere. Obviously, the Lakers will be very interested if that happens. James Posey will also be looking for a midlevel deal that I'm sure the Lakers will be interested in after getting burned by him in the Finals.
After seeing their young bench falter in the clutch, you have to imagine they might be looking for some vets to add. Could Robert Horry do one more year in purple and gold?
There's a lot of questions to be answered. It's going to be an interesting few months.
Let me wrap this up by saying that I'm very proud of what the Lakers accomplished this season. Obviously, I'm not happy with the last two weeks but I'm very happy with what happened the rest of the season. When the season started, most people assumed they would barely make the playoffs. Many thought they'd be a lottery team after trading Kove. But they pulled together and won the Western Conference in a shocker.
As Dante Hicks would say, "They weren't even supposed to be there."
So, I'm proud of what they accomplished - I'm disappointed with how it ended.
And that's that.
Did you see that the Dodgers won last night? Second place and climbing!
Ain't no thang, bitches.
You gotta believe, baby. You gotta believe.
What can you say?
They stunk up the joint. On offense, on defense, on rebounding, on hustle, on... well, pretty much any aspect of the game you can think of. They didn't look sharp. They didn't look hungry. And they didn't look like they wanted it bad enough.
I was furious last night - I won't lie. It was one of the most disappointing series I've ever seen. You can "what if" yourself to death being a sports fan at times but there are a lot of "What ifs" in this series that could've wrapped it up the other way. It didn't - but it could have.
I'm not mad about the loss. I'm disappointed by the loss.
What I'm mad about is the lack of intensity, heart, and pride from the team.
There was a point in Game 5 when I saw a Laker pass get deflected by a diving James Posey and my immediate thought was there were probably three or four players on the Lakers who would even think of doing something like that. That sums up the whole series in a nutshell, I think. They just got outexecuted and outhustled over and over.
I was upset that the Laker stood around all series and watched people drive to the rim freely - and no one ever thought to deliver a hard foul to make the Celtics think twice about it. I was upset that while the Celtics continued to rain down threes, running up the score in garbage time, that no Laker even looked slightly offended by it. I was upset that the Celtics spent about four minutes of the game celebrating on the sidelines, hugging, posing for pictures, throwing Gatorade on the floor, etc... basically everything short of a circle jerk... and no Laker looked upset at all.
There was a serious lack of pride and intensity throughout the series - something the Lakers will need to drastically change if they intend to be back in the Finals next year.
Now, for the good news...
Like my Laker fan brethren who came before me, I can now claim a strong hatred for the Boston Celtics.
I hate Doc Rivers and his "rah rah rah" speeches filled with cliches and statements that mean absolutely nothing. I hate people claiming he's a better coach than Phil Jackson based off six games.
I hate Kevin Garnett and his chest pounding and his screaming at the ceiling like an idiot.
I hate Ray Allen. After all the shit he's talked about Kobe in the past, it makes me sick that he got a ring at our expense.
I hate Paul Pierce and his "I heard a pop" theatrics that made him into some kind of a superhero in the media.
I hate Sam Cassell - always have - and the thought of him getting a ring off of u makes me physically ill.
I could go on but I won't. Suffice to say that if the Lakers are even slightly as pissed as I am at the memory of the entire Celtics team spending half the fourth quarter on the sideline celebrating while the game was still going on, the next time the teams meet should be very interesting.
So, where do the Lakers go from here?
I'm guessing trades will be explored for Vlad, Walton, Odom. I don't think Walton will be movable. Vlad might be a possibility but it'll be tough unless we take someone's bad salary back in exchange. Odom's the big trade chip - big expiring salary, solid player. A lot of teams should be interested in him. Farmar is probably a trading chip as well.
I'm pretty confident that they'll be able to re-sign Sasha and Ronny. Everyone else [Mihm, Mbenga, Newble] is probably gone. Ariza will probably stick as well.
The early chatter is about Ron Artest possibly opting out and pursuing a midlevel deal somewhere. Obviously, the Lakers will be very interested if that happens. James Posey will also be looking for a midlevel deal that I'm sure the Lakers will be interested in after getting burned by him in the Finals.
After seeing their young bench falter in the clutch, you have to imagine they might be looking for some vets to add. Could Robert Horry do one more year in purple and gold?
There's a lot of questions to be answered. It's going to be an interesting few months.
Let me wrap this up by saying that I'm very proud of what the Lakers accomplished this season. Obviously, I'm not happy with the last two weeks but I'm very happy with what happened the rest of the season. When the season started, most people assumed they would barely make the playoffs. Many thought they'd be a lottery team after trading Kove. But they pulled together and won the Western Conference in a shocker.
As Dante Hicks would say, "They weren't even supposed to be there."
So, I'm proud of what they accomplished - I'm disappointed with how it ended.
And that's that.
Did you see that the Dodgers won last night? Second place and climbing!
Ain't no thang, bitches.
You gotta believe, baby. You gotta believe.
2008-06-17
And Then There Were Two
The haters want to say we can't get the job done.
The haters want to say there's no way we can win two games in THEIR house to win this thing.
The haters want to say our win on Sunday was "ugly" and "lucky" and that if we play that kind of game in Boston, there's no chance in hell.
Derek Fisher got asked after Game 3 about winning ugly. Fish told the press, "My three championship rings don't list my field goal percentage - they only say World Champion." Let's go out and give him a chance to get one more that says the same thing.
Kevin Garnett said after Game 4 that he could "taste" the championship. The only thing I want KG to taste after tonight is the bitter taste of adrenaline as he realizes they're one game away from losing it all.
They want us to give up. They want our heads hanging low. They want us to believe there's no way we can go into someone else's arena and take two must-wins in a row.
The Lakers won 27 games on the road in the regular season.
Let's take a closer look:
In November, a two game winning streak on the road.
In December, a three game winning streak and a two game winning streak on the road.
In January, a three game winning streak on the road.
In February, a three game winning streak and a SEVEN game winning streak on the road.
In March, a three game winning streak on the road.
In April, a three game winning streak on the road.
Every month of the regular season, the Lakers have faced this simple task time and again and got the job done.
So, again I say... two more wins on the road to win it all?
Ain't no thang, bitches.
You gotta believe, baby. You gotta believe.
The haters want to say there's no way we can win two games in THEIR house to win this thing.
The haters want to say our win on Sunday was "ugly" and "lucky" and that if we play that kind of game in Boston, there's no chance in hell.
Derek Fisher got asked after Game 3 about winning ugly. Fish told the press, "My three championship rings don't list my field goal percentage - they only say World Champion." Let's go out and give him a chance to get one more that says the same thing.
Kevin Garnett said after Game 4 that he could "taste" the championship. The only thing I want KG to taste after tonight is the bitter taste of adrenaline as he realizes they're one game away from losing it all.
They want us to give up. They want our heads hanging low. They want us to believe there's no way we can go into someone else's arena and take two must-wins in a row.
The Lakers won 27 games on the road in the regular season.
Let's take a closer look:
In November, a two game winning streak on the road.
In December, a three game winning streak and a two game winning streak on the road.
In January, a three game winning streak on the road.
In February, a three game winning streak and a SEVEN game winning streak on the road.
In March, a three game winning streak on the road.
In April, a three game winning streak on the road.
Every month of the regular season, the Lakers have faced this simple task time and again and got the job done.
So, again I say... two more wins on the road to win it all?
Ain't no thang, bitches.
You gotta believe, baby. You gotta believe.
2008-06-16
R.I.P Stan Winston
Seems like a lot of celebrity deaths over the past couple months. I just read about this one and it struck me as a really sad occasion.
For those of you unaware, Stan Winston is a cinematic genius.
This is where you generally would post an obit of some kind but "official" obits always strike me as very cold and depressing, especially when you have to stop and wonder how long that particular obit has been on file somewhere for the day when it needed to be used. It's always a little more heartwarming to see true fans remember their heroes, role models, and what not.
From the AICN report on his passing...
The father of the dinosaurs in JURASSIC PARK, of THE TERMINATOR, of PUMPKINHEAD and PREDATOR and the Monsters in MONSTER SQUAD and, of course, ALIENS, has passed on.
The man is a legend and created legends. He himself a God in his own right, sculpting Icons that will be remembered as long as people with imagination deem it prudent to tell stories to an audience.
People can often weave "It's really weird he died today as I was just..." stories about celebrities that pass and so I have one to share today for Mr. Winston.
I went to see Iron Man for the second time this summer on Friday night - and for the second time, I found myself from time to time just staring at the armor in awe. Ever since I heard at Comic-Con last summer that Stan Winston Studios would be working on the armor - that they intended to use a blend of CGI and Winston's own special form of magic - to create the Iron Man armor, I was enthralled. So, yet again, on Friday night, I found myself staring at that armor and wondering just where the power of CGI ended and the magical hand of Stan Winston began.
I had the pleasure of hearing Mr. Winston speak at Comic-Con on at least one occasion in the past. I believe it was during the panel for the original Aliens vs Predator movie. Even when on stage to promote what everyone must have known was going to an abysmal movie, Winston spoke with such enthusiasm in his voice for the work he had put in. He truly was someone who loved his job - and he was someone who excelled at his work like few in life are able to.
There are certainly people in the movie industry that fill your heart with hope when you hear their name. When you hear that Steven Spielberg is attached to a project, you become giddy thinking of what could be. When you hear that John Williams is going to be scoring something, you can imagine the magical music he will create for it. When you hear that WETA or ILM is taking point on visual effects for a movie, you smile at what you're likely to see.
Stan Winston was one of those men - a creator the likes of which we are unlikely to ever experience again in a cinematic world becoming more and more enveloped inside of a computer. Hearing Stan Winston was going to be involved on a project - on any project - made me smile and get a touch of enthusiasm for that project.
And in the end, there's no better compliment I can think of.
Rest in peace, Mr. Winston, and know that your work will live on in the minds of your fans for the rest of their lives as well.
For those of you unaware, Stan Winston is a cinematic genius.
This is where you generally would post an obit of some kind but "official" obits always strike me as very cold and depressing, especially when you have to stop and wonder how long that particular obit has been on file somewhere for the day when it needed to be used. It's always a little more heartwarming to see true fans remember their heroes, role models, and what not.
From the AICN report on his passing...
The father of the dinosaurs in JURASSIC PARK, of THE TERMINATOR, of PUMPKINHEAD and PREDATOR and the Monsters in MONSTER SQUAD and, of course, ALIENS, has passed on.
The man is a legend and created legends. He himself a God in his own right, sculpting Icons that will be remembered as long as people with imagination deem it prudent to tell stories to an audience.
People can often weave "It's really weird he died today as I was just..." stories about celebrities that pass and so I have one to share today for Mr. Winston.
I went to see Iron Man for the second time this summer on Friday night - and for the second time, I found myself from time to time just staring at the armor in awe. Ever since I heard at Comic-Con last summer that Stan Winston Studios would be working on the armor - that they intended to use a blend of CGI and Winston's own special form of magic - to create the Iron Man armor, I was enthralled. So, yet again, on Friday night, I found myself staring at that armor and wondering just where the power of CGI ended and the magical hand of Stan Winston began.
I had the pleasure of hearing Mr. Winston speak at Comic-Con on at least one occasion in the past. I believe it was during the panel for the original Aliens vs Predator movie. Even when on stage to promote what everyone must have known was going to an abysmal movie, Winston spoke with such enthusiasm in his voice for the work he had put in. He truly was someone who loved his job - and he was someone who excelled at his work like few in life are able to.
There are certainly people in the movie industry that fill your heart with hope when you hear their name. When you hear that Steven Spielberg is attached to a project, you become giddy thinking of what could be. When you hear that John Williams is going to be scoring something, you can imagine the magical music he will create for it. When you hear that WETA or ILM is taking point on visual effects for a movie, you smile at what you're likely to see.
Stan Winston was one of those men - a creator the likes of which we are unlikely to ever experience again in a cinematic world becoming more and more enveloped inside of a computer. Hearing Stan Winston was going to be involved on a project - on any project - made me smile and get a touch of enthusiasm for that project.
And in the end, there's no better compliment I can think of.
Rest in peace, Mr. Winston, and know that your work will live on in the minds of your fans for the rest of their lives as well.
2008-06-15
EXC Returns To CBS
On last night's Elite XC show, they announced their return to CBS. There had been a lot of speculation that CBS wanted them on the air in July - a date that many saw as a problem since their big guns (Kimbo and Gina) were not available that soon.
So, on July 26th, EXC returns to CBS with a rematch between Robbie Lawler and Scott Smith for the middleweight title.
To me, this actually creates a fascinating scenario.
Yes, that is probably the best in-cage fight they could manage to put together on short notice and yes, to people who watched the first show, this could potentially be a big draw.
The trick will be to pick up new viewers without the star factor. This will be a test of EXC and CBS' ability to let people know, "Hey, these are the two fighters who actually had a good fight on our first show - you know, the fight where we had a bullshit decision due to an accidental eye gouge? We're going to do it again and you want to see it!"
The fight inside the cage will probably deliver in terms of action - but can it deliver eyeballs?
We shall see.
So, on July 26th, EXC returns to CBS with a rematch between Robbie Lawler and Scott Smith for the middleweight title.
To me, this actually creates a fascinating scenario.
Yes, that is probably the best in-cage fight they could manage to put together on short notice and yes, to people who watched the first show, this could potentially be a big draw.
The trick will be to pick up new viewers without the star factor. This will be a test of EXC and CBS' ability to let people know, "Hey, these are the two fighters who actually had a good fight on our first show - you know, the fight where we had a bullshit decision due to an accidental eye gouge? We're going to do it again and you want to see it!"
The fight inside the cage will probably deliver in terms of action - but can it deliver eyeballs?
We shall see.
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