Taking Care of Business. U-S-A!!!
Finally living up to expectations
After what I wrote Friday about the Mets and the subsequent turnaround, you’d think I would be in a mood to praise the champion-like resilience. Don’t worry this is going to come back to basketball in a minute. I do not feel like praising the Mets, cause it is their own fault for putting themselves in the position where they had to go down to Atlanta and play pennant race baseball. The Braves are so pathetic they are beneath my contempt these days, but that’s Lang’s problem not mine. All I know is that on Friday, it was panic time not just for myself but for many Mets fans. Did the presence of negative energy launched at the collective psyche of a team force them into playing like the real Mets out of fear? We’ll never know. But if we are going to base future decisions on facts and outcomes, then it must be noted that doomsday negativity lead to glowingly positive results.
I used to think the best way to support your team is to defend them in arguments, give them a moral pat on the back as it were, but now I know better. So the Mets swept the Braves in Atlanta. Big deal. They ain’t done nothing! So Pedro’s back and they kept winning in Cincy. Whatever. That was yesterday. Yesterday is for losers. Willie, you’re on thin ice buddy. But as of now you’re still skating.
It’s not even reverse psychology, and the problematic thing is that I can’t control the gift. Hatred is a powerful weapon. Caring for your sports team and being positive about it is like raising a sheltered child. You just have to throw him to the fire and hope life toughens him/her up. I read the Carlos Zambrano quotes. If I were a Cubs fan, I’d be ready to drink his blood.
Carlos: “I don’t understand why the fans were booing at me.”
The AP Writer: “Zambrano has a 9.56 ERA in three starts since the Cubs gave him a $91.5 million, five-year contract extension through 2012″
Yeah that’ll do it. But much like the Mets are simply expected to go out and win the NL East, Carlos should be expected to pitch like an ace when he’s on the mound, particularly after getting the greatest show of support there is. Which now leads me into the relevant case of a group of people that should be expected to win at all times.
Team USA in the FIBA did what they were supposed to do. Some things in life are just expected of you, and you shouldn’t need praise if you do a good job, but can look forward to blame if you mess up. For example, with slamonline comment moderation, you can’t do anything to make it better than it should be, but you sure can easily mess it up. It is the prototypical “thankless task” unless I say thank you. In more day to day real life stuff that more of you will be able to relate to, I do the dishes, take out the garbage, take on assorted hammer and screwdriver projects etc. but that doesn’t mean I deserve any recognition. It’s just something you’ve got to do. I never should have NOT done the dishes or been too lazy to take out the garbage.
Team USA should never have put itself in the position that anyone would be surprised that they could run through a tournament field unquestioned and unchallenged. The world superpower is back. Say hello to the bad guy! The athletes of the NBA are back on top where they belong. All this talk during the NBA Finals about the Spurs being the “world champion” means something again. For now…
Adding to that, I have well-placed sources that tell me the new Kanye album is really good. I say, it better be! That’s what we should expect, in the same way we should expect Team USA to dominate its enemies, er, competition. Kanye’s job is to make great albums, so it would be more shocking if it was bad than if it was good. The music industry is a thing of the past either way, but hey better this than more ringtone muziks. Sort of on the topic, over the weekend there was a big Rick Rubin piece in the NYTimes magazine. I’m not going to lie and say I read the whole thing. I was Timesless at the beach. But Rubin is my dude. The original king of Hip Hop and the first Jew of Hip Hop/Metal/Chili Pepper/Johnny Cash/country/Neil Diamond and every other type of music. A highly recommended read.
Thanks to Russ and Shannon Booher for working over the weekend. I think it’s actually a felony to work on Labor Day, but thanks!
We have a very special debut post from someone coming later today. Who could it be? You’ll know when you see it.
Oh! Almost forgot, last night my girlfriend had some people over to watch the Justin Timberlake from MSG concert on HBO. One of her friends brought a cake. This cake. Frightening.
40 Responses to “Taking Care of Business. U-S-A!!!”
Sep.4 at 8:35 am
white hot eboy says:
Sam, is it symbolic that JT’s lower extremities are the section that was eaten first?
Sep.4 at 8:50 am
Ryan Jones says:
The Rick Rubin piece was good but not great. On to more important topics, though: Any Michigan Wolverines in the house? Anyone?
Sep.4 at 8:54 am
white hot eboy says:
Ryan, from a south Floridian, anytime the two north FL schools take a loss, it’s a nice morning the following day for us sorry UM fans.
Sep.4 at 9:16 am
Lang Whitaker says:
I liked the Rubin piece but I didn’t think it was long enough.
Sep.4 at 9:21 am
white hot eboy says:
Sam, Rubin’s credibility took a hit when he chose the Monkees over the Stones. That’s way wrong.
Sep.4 at 9:24 am
jay says:
yes that cake is frightening indeed.
Sep.4 at 9:47 am
Joel O's says:
Doesn’t this sorta prove though that Team USA never really fell off? This year and last they fielded pretty much the best that players available, and were really successful. Last year’s loss to Greece was shocking, but for the most part Team USA looked like world beaters. This just proves that America’s bball elite of today - Kobe, Dwight, Jasonkidd!, Lebron etc. - are way ahead of most other teams’. When Team USA fields guys who can barely make the All-NBA Third Team, they can’t win internationally.
Sep.4 at 9:51 am
Joel O's says:
To draw a bad analogy to my point, I don’t think N’Sync benchwarmer Joey Fatone would get the sublime honour of having Sam’s girlfriend’s girlfriends bake a cake in his likeness and subsequently have its lower extremities consumed.
Sep.4 at 10:11 am
Sam Rubenstein says:
Fair point Joel. Team USAs problem was from the top on down, thinking they could just send anyone who felt like it to compete and win. That was kind of disrespectful to the rest of the world. It’s good to have the best of the best playing on that stage again.
Next week I’m having a Giants season opener party and I’ll bake a lifelike Eli Manning cake, which will obviously have no lower extremities at all.
Sep.4 at 10:29 am
Ben Osborne says:
Good stuff, Sam. I give Kanye much praise for rising above the mediocrity and putting together a phenomenal album (in my opinion, it’s the best of the year, with his mixtape coming in 2nd). You can say, ‘well, he should do a great album because he’s talented,’ but that thinking hadn’t worked for Team USA lately, or Michigan Saturday, or Carlos Zambrano during his fantasy-team-killing stretch, so Kanye is good by me.
Sep.4 at 10:35 am
Jack says:
I’m not too keen on the Kanye album. I’ve given it about 5 listens now and it’s not giving me much.
Sep.4 at 10:48 am
Rasheedionics says:
Where are you guys getting Kanye’s album since it’s not supposed to be out til next Tuesday?
Sep.4 at 10:52 am
H to the izzo says:
Rick Rubin is talented.And Ben good call on the Kanye album,he could have easily done a mediocre or above average album and it would have been successful.And thank you to whoever mentioned College Football on Friday,I gave it a try and me likey
Sep.4 at 10:55 am
Ben Osborne says:
Rasheed, those of us in the SLAM office sit next to the staff at XXL Magazine, who pump the unreleased stuff (which they have for reviews, etc) all year round.
Sep.4 at 11:07 am
Myles Brown says:
Album of the Year. Period. And I didn’t watch that JT concert, but I hope he sang D*ck In A Box.
Sep.4 at 11:33 am
Brian says:
When Team USA loses it will because of their big men and Jerry Colangelo’s sense of self importance. They can, and most likely will, be beat in ‘08.
Sep.4 at 11:36 am
white hot eboy says:
Co-sign Brian
Sep.4 at 11:39 am
Shannon Booher says:
I haven’t heard the Kanye yet, but right now my album of the year is DJ Jazzy Jeff’s “Return Of The Magnificent”. I’m anticipating Kanye making a run at that, for sure. And Sam… is it really working if it happens in Vegas?
Sep.4 at 11:39 am
Shannon Booher says:
At least the cake didn’t have Jay Jay the mascot dressed up as Justin Timberlake.
Sep.4 at 11:43 am
Ryan Jones says:
That was me, Izzo. You know I generate all good ideas around here. I trust you can overcome any silly ethnic allegiances to root for my Nittany Lions against Notre Dame next week.
Sep.4 at 11:49 am
H to the izzo says:
Ryan anyone who destroys that school and their racist mascot is alright with me,give me a Penn State jersey and I’ll wear it
Sep.4 at 11:59 am
Ryan Jones says:
My man. By the way, our longtime soccer coach is a ManU fan, so I think we’re the perfect school for you.
Sep.4 at 12:08 pm
H to the izzo says:
In that case give me the Penn State soccer jersey,considering the standard of college soccer I could probably play(gross overstatement)
Sep.4 at 12:27 pm
Ryan Jones says:
It’s fairly mediocre, yes.
Sep.4 at 12:27 pm
Ryan Jones says:
Our coach is actually Irish, if I forgot to mention.
Sep.4 at 12:34 pm
H to the izzo says:
Hopefully an Irish person beats the fightin’ Irish(ugh) it’s only right.Oh and the first ever Irish person to get an American Football scholarship happened this year.Expect the NFL to be filed with pastey Irishmen in about ten years
Sep.4 at 1:04 pm
Jake Appleman says:
Agreed Re: Return of the Magnificent, Shannon.
Sep.4 at 2:11 pm
Ben Osborne says:
I really enjoyed that JJeff album too, but man, I can’t put it with this Kanye joint.
Sep.4 at 2:32 pm
Khalid Salaam says:
Ryan can i assume that when UM lost to App State that day instantly became one of your top ten favorite days ever?….and no Sam, Kanye didn’t have to make a hot album. Considering the current climate of music i’m just glad he did. and in case anyone was wondering, it blows 50’s album out the water. Really.
Sep.4 at 2:36 pm
H to the izzo says:
A Vanilla Ice album rapping all the hits of Garth Brooks would have blown 50’s album of the water
Sep.4 at 2:40 pm
Khalid Salaam says:
Uh, no it woudn’t have izzo. not at all.
Sep.4 at 2:47 pm
H to the izzo says:
In terms of credibility it would not album sales,people still buy 50 Cents albums apparently
Sep.4 at 9:28 pm
Vincenzo says:
I don’t know how the whole album is, but the Good Life track is tight. Like, I’ve been listening to the snippet on repeat. That Champion song is hella nice too.
Sep.5 at 5:15 am
bootlace says:
Kanye’s new album is the best thing since Lloyd Banks’ “Hunger for More”.
Sep.5 at 7:53 am
Boing Dynasty says:
Are you implying that Graduation is NOT better than ‘hunger for more’? If so , kill yourself.
Thanks for your time.
Sep.7 at 1:37 pm
Goody says:
Ben we need to make up a hit list to post up of all of the the haters who come into the site for the world to see. Lets get Holly on that right away….
Sep.7 at 10:28 pm
Pablo (ARGENTINA) says:
Sam: I think that, as usual, you are wrong. It´ll be a differente thing in China, and you´ll have to eat your words, as usual…
Sep.8 at 2:00 am
Gord says:
Boing Dynasty, that comment was godly.
Sep.8 at 2:01 am
Gord says:
Ben, which Kanye mixtape are you referring to? Not “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” I hope
Sep.27 at 1:26 pm
SLAM ONLINE | » Links: A Quick Word About Baseball… says:
[…] Back on September 5, Mets fan Sam wrote… “The Braves are so pathetic they are beneath my contempt these days, but that’s Lang’s problem not mine.” […]