“These Are Our Heroes”: Breakdown of a Nas Tribute

From a time when they weren't made to last...

When ‘Hop Hop is Dead’ was released, buried amongst the playlist was “Where are they now”, a throwback joint in every sense of the word. With its ‘Bomb Squad’-esque production and litany of past rap icons shouted out over the track, this song served as a compelling reminder to the headz and somewhat of a non-preachy history lesson for the “Insert consonant-eezy” generation of listener.
But in a rare moment of the consumer actually benefiting from marketing synergy, Mr. Jones decided to drop a series of ‘Where are they now” remixes, during Black History Month no less, featuring a specific generational or regional grouping of rhymers on each.
So for this week’s music drop, I decided to feature the 90’s remix and include all the seminal tracks from each of the featured artists…

Here it is: Nas’ Where Are They Now 90’s Remix ft. Redhead Kingpin, The Original Spinderella, Rob Base, Father MC, Monie Love, Mike D (of the Jungle Brothers), EST (of 3XDope), Positive K, Das EFX, Lords of the Underground, Dres (of Black Sheep).

For the record, I made some substitutions here and there: Joy and Pain was added for Rob Base, just for variety’s sake. I wanted to include something that illustrated how Positive K could really spit and was more than just that guy that got fronted on by that girl. And finally, I threw in a couple of less heard remixes for Das EFX and Black Sheep: anybody who knows me will know that I’m extremely partial to Dres as an emcee and that ‘A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing’ still ranks as one of my favourite albums of all time.
Speaking on that Native Tongue tip, even tho he wasn’t on the track per say (merely shouted out with reference to his legal woes), I’ll throw in this Chi Ali posse cut with various affiliated fam, including Juju from the Beatnuts.
I’ll leave it at this, and refrain from completely meandering to recall memories and extoll the virtues of a more artistic and expressive time in the history of hip-hop. Enjoy.

Why the Grammys Mean Jack...

You guys won enough so that each of you get to hold one?...Get the @$#! outta here!

I couldn't even be bothered to watch this meaningless, self-congratulatory nonsense. Apparently, Mary won a bunch of Grammys...which is great, but considering I wouldn't put those award-winning songs in any sort of Best of Mary top ten (yes, children, Mary was also waaaaay better back in the day...deal with it) - well, at least she won. But Ludacris for rap album of the year (makes me say, "Oooucch") ? What, Jeezy wasn't nominated...
Musical taste aside, just to cement how irrelevant the Grammys truly are: the poster child for this year's awards were...the Dixie Chicks? Wow. What a powerful statement. It's nice to see the music industry fall in line with the agenda of rich, 'enlightened' (ahem...lily white) Hollywood-type liberals standing up to George Bush...at the END of his presidency. 'Eff' the TV show...you guys are the real 'heroes'.
Celebrating the Dixie Chicks is just a juvenile way of getting back at the country music fans who backlashed against these unlikely political sweethearts...seeing as it was these same yokels (the fans...not the 'Chicks') who were responsible for voting Bush in...two times!!(big shout out to Spike Lee) You know what entertainment industry: let it go. Just focus your efforts on Obama's campaign...I'm sure he'll appreciate the support. Cuz Hillary sure as hell ain't going down without a fight...

R Kelly is the Rick James of our Generation…

I know, I know…substitute unending appetite for drugs with self-destructive drive for sexual predation. But there it is? Who does it like the R…in any genre of contemporary music? Just when you think there’s nowhere new to go in the realm of outrageous behaviour, here comes Robert, going on about ‘closets’ and whatnot…

No, you did not imagine this...

This isn’t even judgment here; I would never consider myself an R Kelly dude. But I feel that because of my respect for Rick James alone (R.I.P.), if not his catalogue of music, this is a favourable comparison for that guy (no, not you Aaron) that puts the ‘R’ in R&B. I’m talking about creating an influence that transcends mere musical planes, about that ‘larger-than-life’ personality to go with the songs.
Recently, things have been kinda crazy for R, and I feel it’s more symptomatic of ‘these days and times’ than anything else. And I stand by that, but that being said, I’m not here for a fight. I have felt no need to judge contemporary <ahem> urban music since the post-Bad Boy era. Especially anything remotely falling in the category of ‘Club’ music. Thus, I feel no need to engage that sensitive ‘homo-thug’ mentality that permeates through much of this younger generation’s listeners: I’m not here to tell you how much doper things were 10 to 15 years ago and I’m not trying to dis your artists. Enjoy Jeezy. Please.
Even tho his career has spanned through more than a couple of decades, and those that know the ‘old’ R can argue about the questionable direction of his career and some of the musical choices he has made along the way. I’m not here for that, either. What brought this whole notion of the R to mention was his performance on the ‘Let It Rain’ remix.
I was pretty ambivalent to the original: to me, it was what it was…for the clubs, cute little hook with the usual pimp posturing…I wasn’t mad. So why, or shall I say, how is it that Kells outshines all the rappers on the remix? I mean, Robert went there…not the closet, per say, but some ig’nant shit nonetheless…and came out fresher than…well, everyone else on the track. Could it be that this is the first time ever an R&B artist kicks in the best verses on a rap remix? Who else could do this?
Let’s face it, all these lil’ artists want to take their sexy to a place R has been to and back virtually his whole career. The best years of Ginuwine seem past him and while Trey Songz clearly wants it, he actually appears to have the best chance at carrying on tradition. It’s just a question of avoiding the blatant rip off.
But anybody even remotely associated with a boy band; from B2K to…<cough> N’Sync, you’re just not built for this. Usher, when you get back, stick to dancing. Even Neo, who I’m not really that mad at, needs to stick to his comfort zone in the PG-13 confines of ‘sexy’ lovin’. Taste is not a question (because these days, it never is…): all popular male R&B artists (and even some of the Neo Soul-ish cats) want what the R got. It’s like Puba said, they can ‘try and copy, but they just can’t sketch it…’
But now the rappers wanna front like him too…and guess what: a lot of them aren’t winning. Damn, dudes don’t even wanna be their favourite O.G. rhymer anymore, they wanna be Robert.
Like Rick did back in his day, what other contemporary artist is able to go there (possibly making you cringe in the process) and then bring it back to you...like that? Y'all know the name...but for those who forgot: it’s Kells, bitches…

"Kells, is that you behind those shades...I guess this is a pre-mask flick?"

Enjoy the remix...

And to end on some synergy, when can you cover this Robert? I know, it's complicated. Maybe, after the trial...

So we have a new candidate on the MVP Ballot…?

B to the O to the S to the H. Career high? Hell, he had 31 in the 2^nd half, one short of the career high Dwight Howard got on the night. You see Chris’ eyes light up when Darko was on him…there’s just so much that could be said right there that I’ll leave alone. Oh, people are gonna notice, now. Bosh and the team...

"Yeah, I'm good with just being on the ballot...for now..."

The Raps are starting to make a habit of just out-gunning teams; this is the fourth straight 100 + point game. And could any team do this without their starting point guard healthy? Name one. Another outstanding team passing performance (31 assists), granted Ocho and TJ combined for 20, but what other team has two points that can get 10 assists in the same game? Consequently, the team was on fire from the field. Yeah, the Dotters jacked some misguided 3’s (5-17), but also managed to get to the line 38 times. Just too much for Orlando. And now, the Raps are just four games behind Detroit for first place in the Eastern Conference. And it’s not even the all-star break yet…

"...eeeexcellent..."

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Duke losing at home to a stacked Tar Heel team, for their third straight loss in conference play. Nice. The difference between UNC and Duke is as simple as the difference between Ty Lawson and Greg Paulus. Dookies, except your fate this year: y’all just hope that Coach K takes some time off from his pissing-Gilbert-Arenas-off-agenda (again, nice job USA Basketball…) to recruit a good class for next year.

"Yeah, I know I'm...uh...over rated, but I could hold Gil to at least 65-70..."

So I got myself a ticket for the Kobe game Friday. Things are getting kinda giddy up here in Raptor-land. Watching the Raps wipe that smug-ass permalook on Phil Jackson’s face would complete this week of basketball bliss. It won’t even matter how it goes down in Detroit on Saturday…that’s just gravy. Here’s to Bosh making Coach Phil reference his inappropriate innuendos from last year…
Notice the absence of Kobe hate to my Lackers mini-diatribe…this is no coincidence. But here’s a little youtube number (thanks for L for the link) that illustrates how 3X’Eight’ can get under folks skin. You tell ‘em Shaqsquatch: "What you know about ‘me, Kobe, Ron Mercer…and Jesus.”

Sinking Ship…But Can They Trade Vince?

I don’t know if anybody else caught that Nets v. Philly game last night. Philly ended up pulling it out in OT at home, extending NJ’s loosing streak to 4 with another heart-breaking loss. Did I mention Vince missed a wide-open 25 foot look for the win? I was flipping back and forth between whatever other bad TV that was on at the time, until it got interesting. I settled in for the stretch run when Philly finally took the lead after being down for most of the game. With about 2:30 minutes left, I actually started to take note of where the NJ possessions were going, that is, who was taking their shots. It even sorta surprised me, since they did have two all-stars on the court…

Out of the 14 possessions NJ had in the last 7 and a half minutes of the game (the game, incidentally, went into overtime) Vince was directly involved in 12. For the math freaks, that’s every possession, except 2. It bears mentioning Kidd wasn’t even bringing up the ball for the majority of the time; they just went straight to Vince. He ended up being 2-7 from the floor during this span, but he had his shot blocked twice by Dalembert. He did manage to get to the line 4 times making half his free throws. And he also had 2 assists (notably, creating the Eddie House game tying 3), as the rest of the team went 2 for 4 down the stretch: one of the two Non-Vince misses was a wide open 18 foot look for Uncle Cliffy off a Vince feed.

Basically, barring an Uncle Cliffy miss from 3 that Vince had nothing to do with, the only non-Vince created play was an intentional Philly foul on Kidd to keep him from shooting the 3. To Ason’s credit (he was 5-16 for the night), he hit both free throws. Oh, and Kidd did create that wide open look to win the game for Vince on a play Philly almost deserved to lose on, for playing such terrible defense.

On an almost a side-note, Vince did play some good on-the-ball defense at the end of the game, doggedly staying in front of Philly’s primary scoring option, Iguodala, even blocking him once. This forced the 76ers to divert most of their offense through Andre Miller during the OT. However, off-the-ball was a different story, as VC did get used by the ‘other AI’ on a backdoor cut for an oop and left him criminally open for a back-breaking, 5^th period ‘3’ when he was caught in no-mans land, engaging in a half-assed double team of Miller in the post. The same ol’ facts of life with Vince: you take the good, you take the bad…

I guess you can see where I’m going with this. Vince was/is the Nets crunch time offense. Granted, maybe Kidd took himself out the game because he was shooting so poorly. But Kidd’s default play left Vince to not only create for himself, but gave him the responsibility to let the other Nets leach off his ability to get them shots (or had to settle for what he could give them…). Sadly, that made Eddie House the 2^nd most valuable Net on the offensive end and Uncle Cliffy the ‘next’ option. The rest of the Nets on the floor were cosmetic…that conspicuously includes the ‘other’ Net all-star.

Some changes definitely need to be made over in the Swamp. But can they really afford to trade Vince without getting a primary scorer back? And with Vince’s history, will any team really give up that player for Vince? Ah, the Vince quandary…can’t win with him…who the hell is gonna score without him. All I can say is, glad that’s not us…anymore.

New Segment For A New Week..."A and B Music Reviews"

My personal highlight of Super Bowl was finding party where they had their own deep fryer: that’s homemade wings and poutine all night (although Prince opening up with “Let’s Go Crazy” at halftime cannot be fronted on…). I’ll just say this: all the turnovers in the world couldn’t have made that game compelling. Just watching it was like one long Dennis Green moment-reminder, as even that Devin Hester-Ted Ginn-esque return on the first play couldn’t make things interesting. Hey Kanye, your squad got humped by a team coached by one of the lightest skinned mens on the planet…be afraid, he could be bringing the 80’s back (bet you ain’t angry at his wife, tho…or maybe, after watching the emasculation on display in this video, you are…). And could it possibly suck anymore to be Eli Manning right now…we’ll leave the Marino suicide watch till after Brett breaks all his records next year.

Alright enough of that, allow me to welcome you to a new feature for this site: it’s called “A and B Music Reviews”. I’ll select a few songs, usually new stuff I get a hold of, and then get Mr. A and Mr. B to chop it up. You also might notice I have made the featured songs to accessible to all, so click the links on the song titles and you should be able to acquire the music that is being discussed. It’s the blog that now gives back.

Now, a little background on the reviewers: Mr. A is a hip-hop/bashment head with groundings in the old school, particularly, leanings to the funk and a soft spot for soul. Mr. B is a more youthful (although at times it may not seem that way), musically diverse listener who is so well versed in cool that he would make the most pretentious music snob envious.

So that being said, take it away, fellas…for the first time out, it’s all about RNB and pop…

1. One Chance feat. Bobby Valentino, Trey Songz and Lloyd - Look at Her Remix

Mr. A says:
Alright...the first tune is One Chance with the ‘Look at her remix’ featuring the RNB All-Stars...seriously tho, I think the original was with one of the dudes from D4L. No Laffy Taffy…

Mr. B: says:
Really? Why the hell would these pre-pubescents do a remix? Basically I group Bobby Valentino in the JBU crew: Just Below Usher.

A: You know, ‘One Chance’ is Usher's first signing to his label... goes to show the pull Mr. Raymond has in “the in-DUS-tree”...getting these cats together...it's like RNB unity...

A: "U-Nnn-IIIII-Teeee-WHYYYYYYYYY!!!"...…"Now who is you callin’ a bitch!"

B: lol

A: I guess Usher just holla'd at them other dudes...on some 'be on my ish' ish.

B: I mean who better to rear these young bucks than him: I can just picture these guys in some kinda boot camp a la "making of the band". Usher making them run errands, doing the A town stomp. Hey, that'd make a great reality show.

A: What's more interesting to me is who he didn't get on the track...namely, one Chris Brown a.k.a the nemesis.

B: LOL

A: I can't help but picture Usher softly cussing this dude out...ripe with conflicted sexual tension, like: ”That little bastard…stealing my dancing and shit...but he sure is a tall, glass o' beige drink....”

B: LOL! Glass o'beige drink…sheeeeeeeit, you gonna start singing "Old man river"?

A: Naw. Ok, personalities aside, whatcha think of the song?

B: Ok, well correct me if I'm wrong but Trey Songz is in this right?

A: Yup....Bobby V...Trey Songz...that Lloyd kid...man, they better have a big mirror in that studio...

B: Well, I listened to this track and for the first few seconds, I was pretty attentive: I was interested in hearing our boy Trey, cause he’s the one I don't want to hit with a shovel. But they all sound the SAME! Is that what they're teaching over there in Usherville. I really had a hard time distinguishing them apart…or was that just me?

B: Anyways, my initial gut reaction is a well thought-out, emphatic "eh"

A: One word for this track....’generic’. It's just that Jodeci-wannabe, get-sexy school of same ol' same ol'. Tried by many. Perfected by few. NEXT!

2. Amy Winehouse - Rehab

A: The song is Amy Winehouse's Rehab...she's gonna be the new big hipster thing...<cues up DJ Clue effect> “New shit…new shit…”

A: She’s from England, her voice is way more Sarah Vaughan than Mary... this is the first single from the album...she just came off a vocal cameo on the last Ghostface EP...

B: Well I've been a fan for awhile, since her first album Frank (2003), I liked it a lot. It was fresh and she got a lot of attention in the UK.

A: Of course Mr. B, that puts you way ahead of the curve...as per usual…got the album title with the year in brackets and err-thang…

B : <sucks teeth while ignoring Mr. A>That album was pretty eclectic, and she switches gears almost seamlessly. I like her, and it once again displays the UK music industries’ superiority in cultivating young talent.

A: I heard the rest of this new album and it’s all heavily influenced by that 50’s and 60’s soul sound... it is a much more enjoyable listen than, say…the last John Legend album. But I don't know if the people here will be able to take an album full of retro-styled music

B: You're right, North America is pretty focused on innovation or stagnation not regression but its nice to take a look backwards sometime…

A : I can say this...she's gonna have to be marketed very carefully in the U.S. if she's gonna break through commercially…

A: Let me get my A&R on: first, gotta market her like a white artist...I mean, not in the singles-driven way bla...uh...urban music revolves in...

B: Hearing her voice, you envision a young black girl who grew up listening to Billie Holiday or Janis Joplin but she’s actually white and Jewish…

A: Touché. Second, they need to get one of her joints on, say, Entourage or something, laying the seeds... Once they get Lindsay Lohan to publicly co-sign, the album will be a full blown pop culture trend; like any other fashion accessory. At that point, it’s a wrap...instant mass appeal.

B: LOL. Very true. It'll be "What was that song Turtle was driving to?" …but I have to say her voice alone will be her biggest asset.

A: OK, verdict time. To me, this single is fire...it's mos def the favorite joint from the album and I’ll go as far to say my current RNB flavor...she had me at, “There's nothing you can teach me, that I can't learn from Mr. Hathaway...”

B: Agreed, but I like "I'm no good track as well"

A: Yeah, that was the joint she redid with Ghostface...and I have to admit, I enjoyed the Ghost version better...his rhymes with her on mostly just the hook.

B: So is the album worthy of downloading?

A: You mean worthy of buying …well, for cool points alone, it couldn't hurt...

B: Lol, we seem to be on the same page…Maybe I’m brainwashed but everything UK seems "cool" to me…and she swears so smoothly you have to play it back to catch it: "you kept your dick wet". Man, she's got a potty mouth…

B: My prediction: every freaking song on the album is gonna get remixed by EVERYONE: any takers?

A: True say. They could remix this one with a funky drummer beat; make it a Lyn Collins-like ode to James...might get it on “urban” radio…maybe even in the clubs...

A: But stripping down this track for a remix basically denies the music of what makes it so compelling. It would just be… surprise, surprise...dumbing it down for the masses to suck up .

3. Kenna - Out of Control

A : Ok the next joint by Kenna, called ‘Out of control’. This dude is Ethiopian born, Virginia Beach raised...hooked up with Chad a.k.a the Asian unseen half of the Neptunes....and this is what you get: a sound that is really, really…really heavily influenced by the 80s.

B: That obvious huh? Well, it’s not that bad but I don't see it flying up the charts, except for the fact that a Neptune put his name on it. The white suburban youth will be "up on this" but that's about it

A: Uh, just the white suburban youth…isn’t that market bank? All I can say is that it reminded me of the sort of music you'd find on an Ipod commercial. Then I saw it’s featured on that new portable Play Station commercial... uh, portable PS...what’s it called again?

B: I think you mean the PSP. Your age is showing Mr. A…

A: Whateva man, my kids is at they baby moms…normally they’d break it down for me. Back to the song, I don't mind the verse, but the chorus is less appealing to me...apparently, shit is out of control.

B: Yeah, apparently. Now I don't know much about this kid but I smell niche and novelty all over this: Ethiopian/London born; singing rock anthems. It’s got that "brand new ish" all over it. I kinda feel sorry for him, cause the novelty's gonna wear out and quick.

A : Can’t ride with you on that “brand new” factor; that 80's sound was big a hot second ago... but now…not so much. I guess that's why he had to go to Sony to make sure he‘s getting paid.

B: Yeah, ok. The Killers kinda started it and, yeah, electro clash is thriving but I think it’s hit the saturation point.

A: I just really, really, really hope that Chad gets his face ALL up in that video...

B: Yeah, he definitely will. And he won’t be dancing (badly) like Diddy but he'll be there. And Pharrell will be up in there bopping or skateboarding or doing both. God, he's annoying.

A: Well this one gets a 'meh' from me...sounds like: Neptunes grab artist, do the Strokes or Killers or whatever band you just said…

B: Yup, and that's it. I bet I won't even hear about this song in the mainstream…wait, I take that back. I'll hear about it, but only for a second. Poor guy.....well, there's always the UK.

A: Yep...off to the lesser markets for you Kenna. And Chad, if you read this (heh, heh), we already know you and Pharrell do non hip-hop...you don't have to make contrived genre music to still convince us.

B: When you're right, you're right Mr. A.

4. Unknown artist – Irreplaceable: the man’s version

A: Ok...final one: unknown artist/female tormenter with ‘Irreplaceable, the man's version’...

B: LOL…yup.

A: To the RIGHT to the RIGHT!

B: This was enjoyable, but it‘s so base and crude that you can't listen to it in any other venue other than in a car or with friends (preferably around girls). This certainly ain’t going on nobody's Ipod…and what's with the Casio synth in the background? I swear I had one that sounded just like that when I was 12.

A: Do you really think this ain't going on anyone's Ipod when it gets out? Apparently, the original is now a legitimate female anthem... so the backlash was inevitable. I mean, this dude sounds mad at women in general. Personally, I would've been fine at leaving this one for the ladies...

B: It’s Scrubs vs. Pigeons again. And what I find funny is that in each version, the main point of the song is the whole " Listen I got the cash I paid for it so YOU are replaceable cause I can find another goldigging guy/girl in a minute.....matter fact he/she'll be here in a minute." Good for you! He/she only wants your cash! I can't see Beyonce saying this to Jay though, or maybe she would: I can see Usher driving up to the door right now....lol.

A: So goldigger is officially gender neutral now? This is social progress?

B: I think it is.

A: Dude sounds like Case during his ‘Mary’ days: 'TRRRRRRRRRRICK give me MY PHONE!!!' Hey, publicity is publicity. Whoever did this wanted the attention…

B: That's true...I can't get the song outta my head now. And the ‘hour’ and ‘shower’ rhyme, pure genius...well not genius. You have to admit, though, get a bunch of guys in a car after a night out and play this track, man: you better put that song on repeat for the drive home....cause it’s a rap.

A: Already been lived, son...<sangs> "Because there's soooooooo many of yooooooooooooooou..." Shout out to the Brother Kwame.

B: Lol, only a guy could appreciate that…

A: I guess this does serve a purpose...I just can't see your average female finding a sense of humor about this...

B: Definitely. I don't think I'd play this song around my girl: she'd probably look at me and say "is that what you think?" And I'd have to say, "No baby, there's only ONE of you!"

A: Not the sort of dialogue you'd want to promote...even with me…cuz bitches are never mad at me. Ever.

A: So there it is...for semi-harmless, swagger-jacking misogyny…thumbs up! As long as the room has been cleared of all estrogen, first.

B: Yup and if you don't mind the horrible rhymes and the 1992 synth. As well as the angst this guy is portraying, it so palpable it’s depressing. Thumbs way UP!

Hope you enjoyed the first A&B review...holla at me with some input...

Some Pre-Super Bowl Basketball and Why Hibachi is Doper than You…

So the Raps disposed of a decent Clipper team that had no desire to defend, running up season highs for total points in a game and at halftime. Five guys had 17 or more with a total of six in double figures. And that’s pretty much what has caught the attention of the Lig: the distribution of offense and the overall team passing. Now that this notion of .500 ball doesn’t seem so unfamiliar, the only thing left to do is beat some of the better teams left on the schedule. I guarantee you, if the Raps manage to pull out that win in Detroit next Saturday, somebody better start talking about bandwagon management. With all these recent home court wins, I guess I should shout out the local secret weapon: ladies, keep lovin’ those American ballers…it makes it a bitch for them to play 'd' the next day, especially on those 'early' Sunday games.

Right now, Detroit is handling the Cavs in Cleveland, and I don’t know what’s more annoying: the constant stream of LeBron dick-riding by the commentators, with Mark Jackson going for originality (‘Trust me, when LeBron was finishing high school, a lot of NBA guys thought he would become a big flop when he got to the League…” Huh?) or the Pussycat Doll-laden spots for the NBA on ABC. Granted, she’s the hottest, most talented one…but can somebody tell the lead Pussycat to get a ’24’ Lakers jersey on. I don’t know what’s more played, the ‘eight’ or the impending career path of her fellow cat-mates…

The Gilbert story that I linked to the other day now has an accompanying video (spotted on Deadspin). Now you get to see how he took that 20 large off of poor DeShawn’s hands…some amazing stuff. I was still pretty impressed with DS’s set shooting, but the repeated purity of some of those one-handed college threes was a sight to behold.

The only thing that’s left to say is…’Go Bears!’ The Peyton-riding during/after a Colts win would overshadow even the worst violating of LeBron's jock seen thus far. Could be a rough NFL offseason...

Beat Beats, Bad Calls and Bad Selections…

In the days before the all-star selection (or at least for the reserves), I found myself noticeably preoccupied with two teams other than the Raptors: the Lackers and the Nets. Now being unsteadily positioned at the top of low-lying Atlantic Division makes anybody competing with the Raptors ‘of interest’. And barring a run by the Knicks (hey, stranger things, son…), it looks like a two cripple race to the top of this division, with the Nets’ roster being suitably injury-ravaged for the analogy.

NJ was floating around .500 when they left for a five game West Coast swang, and unbelievably lost their first three games by a point, each. That’s one…point. And each opponent scored their winning basket with, at most, ten seconds left each time.. One was at the buzzer. One, may as well have been. So the chi-chi-less squad had to stare down a muddled Nuggets team at high altitude, followed by a Boozer-less, fine-tuned Jazz machine in Mormon country. Not a good look. And what happens?
Vince dropped a combined 73 points on 27 free throws (yup, started going to the basket again…) in the two games including one, loooong game winner. Two wins. Go figure. Now the only question for this franchise left is who to trade (you can check the last post on why the Nets need to give up and rebuild). And the two sides are very clear. Kidd could put up the best offensive numbers of his career but, sadly (or not so sadly), this team will still lose. He’ll also give up points when matched up with anybody but Steve Blake. Don’t forget to throw in one potentially-publicly messy and embarrassing divorce to boot. But clearly, because of his offensive renaissance, (because as a minority Nets owner did say, “Men and women lie, numbers don’t.” That is, unless they associated with padded first week sales…), his trade value is pretty much as high as they could hope it to be...
Or you can just keep him. But does the NJ powers-that-be really think riding Kidd to barely-there mediocrity will be of any relevance three or even two years down the road for the franchise? A series of first, maybe second round losses in the playoffs? At best. Welcome to life with Vince as your featured offensive piece.
Speaking of oxymoronic devils, VC has a hard contract to trade plus a hard-to-trade reputation. I mean, we all know his deficiencies. However, with Vince being able to opt out of said contract at the end of this year, management can not let him go for nothing ( I mean they could…but RJ isn’t that guy neither). Apparently, off-the-record VC pandering did not warrant Pau, AK-47 or Jesus (who I think would be a great fit). We seen this before, but from the other side. Hey Thorn: what goes around, comes around...(I feel like I must add this for punctuation)…bitch. Oh, we haven’t heard the last of this…

And now to the anti-Vince: Kobe and the Lackers. They were rolling along impressively; nipping at the heels of the Jazz and SA. And then, out the blue, suffered a really bad beat in overtime against Charlotte…at home?! (Still think they’re getting past the second round LA-lovers?) Granted, it featured the dumbest play of the season, made by Nique’s nephew to give Kobe a wide-open look to send the game into overtime. Cool, OT then…only to get run out of their own yard by Emeka and co. in the extra period? Huh?P.J....uh, no words of Zen-like wisdom for this one? How bout a book assignment?
So what’s next? The Lackers followed that up with an another terrible home OT loss to the Spurs. As embarassing as that Charlotte loss was, this was just as bad for two reasons: 1) SA shot under 30% for three quarters and more importantly 2) the incident…

Yes, Kobe’s flailing limb, somehow overshadowing what was an absolutely spectacular defensive play by GINOBILI! It was such a good block, Kobe didn’t even see him and couldn’t time his flop, hence he ‘flopped’ his elbow right into GINOBILI!'s face. So you think having old ass Michael Finley finish you off in overtime...on your home court, is embarrassing enough, right? How could it get worse? Now paging…Mr. Stern…

Hold the outrage for a minute (One regular season game…ooooo, the injustice. Y'all acting like its a Playoff game...). Now for once, I really think Stern got it right. And here’s why: this was not meant to be a literal assertion of the rules for suspension purposes. So you can get off that whole "opening of Pandora’s Box for suspendable contact". There’s not going to suspensions handed out every other night.
Alright, so now this is Kobe-profiling, huh? Well, yes and no. Let’s face it, Kobe himself has gone on record to saying he applies the dirty tricks of the trade common amongst Lig veterans. Hell, he even has a track record of being caught crossing the line on said trickery (ask Mike Miller…). This was just a case of Kobe trying to do a Reggie Miller-esque flop at best, attempting to use star status to unjustly draw referee attention towards getting the win at home: something approaching par for the course in this day and age. And really, this is why Stern needs to step in. Because if Kobe hadn’t smashed GINOBILI! in the face, and instead crumpled like an Italian in the 18 yard box, who’s to say Phil wouldn’t have been placating Pop in the post game press conference with his best fake-ass humble routine (in addition to avoiding being shown up by Isiah’s crew the next game).

After last year’s run to the chip by the Miami Stripped Zebras, I’m sure Mr. Stern has enough perspective to see the ongoing trend towards the NBA Playoffs becoming a yearly PR nightmare for the Lig office. Consider this a pre-emptive strike from Stern: even superstars cannot expect to get away with the sort of antics that play on the fragile ref mind states, directly affecting wins and losses, and ultimately tarnishing the Lig rep. Besides, Stern has his own marketing agendas that play upon those same refs anyways. To recap: how many times did D Wade get to the free throw line in his marquee match up against LeBron the other night? Yes folks, a perfect Jack Bauer. Makes you wonder if the Lig can afford not to have Miami in the playoffs this year? We’ll see how things go down the stretch but I hate the chance of any team trying to take that 8^th seed away from Dwyane and (when he’s actually on the court) Shaq. And how long before they put a ref calling a shooting foul on the NBA logo? Let’s just hope Stern can practice restraint for himself and not just impose it on the players…

Speaking of imposing, it’s amazing how Carmelo was kept off the All-Star squad: it’s maddeningly curious how such a decision can be made if, theoretically, one was prioritizing performance related issues. As the Lig’s scoring leader, Carmelo will certainly get inserted as an alternate, but is this how you really want to treat one of the emerging stars of the contemporary game (having to get bailed out by Stern time and time agai…never mind)? It’s hard to believe Josh Howard won’t get the other extra spot (with Boozer and Yao out), but it seems like these Western Conference Coaches want to insert a chip on these guys’ shoulders. How can you really justify Dallas having only 1 All-Star…I guess that’s an indirect vote of confidence for Dirk as MVP.
That automatic spot that typically Jesus or Elton would get disappeared with the presence of Iverson in the West. Boozer was an absolute no-brainer this year, but with SA struggling (relatively, of course) and Phoenix players no longer possessing those gaudy numbers (other than Nash) it was kinda surprising le francis Parker, Amare and Marion all made it. Personally, I was expecting two Suns, not three.

In the East, it seemed destined that Joe Johnson was gonna get screwed. And predictably, he did. But there are no alternate places on this roster, so Double J’s will have to pull a Gilbert and target his detractors for ‘get-back’ on the court. Same will Michael Redd, although for one, players like this don’t really make for exciting All-Stars and he was also out for a good period during the season (he might have been a scratch for the game itself, anyways). I thought some USA Basketball canvassing might have taken place on the low, so he would be inclined to help that squad out in the future. But with both Piston starters in, that effectively killed both these players prospects, pegging them as victims of the ‘star on a bad team’ syndrome.
Ben Gordon also got jobbed, as Chicago deserved at least one player on the squad by virtue of their position in the conference standings. Too bad rank was pulled, and Vince got invited to dance in Vegas instead. With his comme-ci comme-ca attitude towards winning and tendency to jack from distance aside, Vince is clearly built for All-Star type contests. His skill and physical ability alone has made him a fan favourite, although he was rightfully displaced by Gilbert in the starting five. He will surely do something on the court that will make you forget about those other guys. And, yes, Emeka probably deserves to be there too, but shot-blocking wins games. It doesn’t get you in an All-Star game tho...The coaches got it all the way right in one pick: good to see Caron get acknowledged for his work this season. Sure that Phoenix-lite style offense will allow him to put up numbers, but as it stands now, Washington will provide the coach for the East team. Butler has played a big role in the surprising Wiz emergence in the standings.

Speaking of the Ex-Bullets, if there’s any doubt who the livest player in the Lig is now, check out this link. Makes one kinda glad that he copped that jersey on a whim last year…