Fri-Day! Yes!
Spent the morning doing some Christmas shopping, and now I’m ready to swear off Christmas altogether. I figured the NYC crowds wouldn’t be too bad on a Friday morning, but I figured wrong. I’m locking myself in my apartment this weekend in case the tourists riot.
As the Iverson stuff continues to fester and simmer and come to no conclusion, and as my Sidekick continues to work overtime (woke up to 47 new emails on my Sidekick this morning) I’ve had to look elsewhere to maintain my sanity. Here’s five things other than hoops that I’ve enjoyed the last few weeks…
1) Apocalypto — Sam and I bugged out of here early yesterday to catch this, and it was a heckuva movie. I’d read that it was basically an action movie, and I can see that comparison, because the second half of the movie was a long chase through the jungle. But the first half is jammed with themes: man vs. man, nature vs. progress, etc. Not one of the greatest movies of all time, but a really good movie. It’s violent, but no moreso than Saw or one of those horror movies. Also, the guy who plays Jaguar Paw looks exactly like Ronaldinho. I kept waiting for him to do that hang ten thing with his hand that Ronaldinho always does.
(And we saw a preview for this movie. I called Jordan Brand today and they had no knowledge.)
2) Hell Hath No Fury, The Clipse — I’ve only listened to it in full twice, but I’m liking it so far. Sam is vouching for it, which really goes a long way in the hip-hop world, and our sister magazine XXL gave it an XXL rating.
3) Inside the NBA on TNT — I didn’t see the entire New Orleans show last night, and I tried to watch it this morning on NBA.com but after two minutes of waiting for it to load and then it finally loading and playing choppier than a YouTube video, I gave up. (TNT: Couldn’t you cut a deal with YouTube and run the videos on there? Or just buy the software and convert your video to flash videos and run them somewhere else? Heck, we’ll host them here if you want. The flash video is not that expensive and it works about 50 times better than the embedded Windows Media Player window.)
Anyway, they had a thing during the postgame show where Barkley and Reggie Miller and Kenny decided they could form a team of old NBA players and win games int he Eastern Conference. Somehow this turned into a challenge to Barkley to run up and down the steps of the New Orleans Arena in less than 20 seconds. So he took off his headset and took off running, and he made it just under the wire. When he sat back down he could barely talk. Funny stuff.
4) Rainbox Six Vegas for XBox 360 — Fun game, and I haven’t even played it online yet. Once I beat single-player mode I’ll take it to the internets.
5) “30 Rock” — My favorite comedy on a network this season. Very, very well-written, and always funny. Last night, for instance, there was a scene with Alec Baldwin and Tina Fey. Baldwin’s character has suspected all season that Fey’s character likes chicks, even though Fey has a boyfriend, etc. So last night Fey walks into Baldwin’s office and sits down with an angry look on her face, and Baldwin glances up and says, “What’s the matter, did the Liberty lose last night?”
Let’s get it…
QUOTE OF THE DAY…
“Yeah, I get four after the game. Don’t knock light American beer. I’m a domestic guy.” — Cliff Robinson, on how he’s managed to play past the age of 40.
THE LINKS…
• Just a reminder that if you haven’t signed up for the SLAM Newsletter, do it now on our homepage. It’s like getting free, original Links sent directly to your inbox.
• AI Update: The Nuggets are “in the driver’s seat,” as we told you yesterday ….. The Sixers are so confused by this Iverson business that they had to bring in Larry Brown to consult. Of course, Brown did so well with personnel last season (bringing in Steve Francis, etc) that this is a GREAT idea. Sixers fans are going to storm the Comcast Center ….. In that previous article, David Aldridge says the Nuggets are still in the lead, and Vecsey says the Heat make the most sense, which I’m starting to agree with ….. The Celtics might not have been involved to begin with ….. The Bulls are trying to figure out to sneak in the deal and dump PJ Brown and get Marcus Camby in return. What would Camby play, power forward? ….. And then there’s Jim Gray, who famously announced he got duped by an Iverson imposter and now doesn’t want to talk about it ….. Finally, Stephen A. says the fans in Philly won’t be “hoodwinked.” We didn’t land on Allen Iverson, Allen Iverson landed on us!
• Early leader for stupid injury of the year: Ronnie Brewer sprained his right ankle after he stepped on it with his left foot when he “forgot to stop running.”
• Eddy Curry Update: Early All-Star voting has been released, and SLAMonline.com’s official candidate, Eddy Curry, apparently isn’t even on the ballot — he’s not listed among the top ten centers in the East. I’m concerned there might be a voting error because Zaza Pachulia is somehow sixth, and he can’t even dunk.
• Is there something wrong with LeBron?
• How has Cliff Robinson played until he’s 40? How about drinking four light beers after every game?
• George Shinn says the Hornets are probably moving back to N’awlins full time next season.
• Chauncey Billups snitches on Sheed’s injured foot.
• Anyone seen Wayne Simien? He’s in New York getting “extensive treatment” for a case of salmonella that’s sidelined him since the summer. That must have been some rancid food he had.
• Tyson Chandler should’ve had a flu shot.
• David Stern says he disagrees with everyone on revenue sharing.
• Finally, remember Sam Ashaolu, the Duquesne basketball player who was shot a few months ago? Good news: He’s making a dramatic recovery and recently was able to dunk a basketball. They’re having a fundraising charity showcase this week.
