NBA Offseason Movements: Western Conference, 2008

Better late than never:

Golden State Warriors
Changes: Lost Baron Davis (Clippers), Matt Barnes (Suns), and Mickael Pietrus (Magic) to free agency; signed Corey Maggette; drafted Anthony Randolph
I love it, as I've gotten to the point where I hate the Warriors. Golden State lost the heart and soul of their team because of squabling between that player and Don Nelson (sound familiar?), and lost two important subs, as well. They committed too much money to a player--while talented in his own right--is a copy of several other key players on the team. Basically, Nelson has a team full of SG/SFs. Which is really the way he wants it, but we've seen how much you can win with that.

LA Clippers
Changes: Signed Baron Davis, Ricky Davis, and White Chocolate; lost Elton Brand (Sixers) and Correy Maggette (Warriors); traded for Marcus Camby; drafted Eric Gordon
Poor Clippers. They're finally doing the right thing...and David Falk (Brand's agent) decides to screw them over for a slight from over five years ago and screws them. It's pretty ridiculous. They did a good job by getting Marcus Camby for nothing, and they weren't a true Western Conference superpower even with Brand and Davis, but now they're just battling for the 8th seed.

Phoenix Suns
Changes: Signed Matt Barnes; drafted Robin Lopez
I think people are going to be surprised at how bad the Suns are this season. They're my preseason pick to be the surprise drop like a stone team in the West.

Sacramento Kings
Changes: Traded Ron Artest to the Rockets for Donte Greene & Bobby Jackson; drafted Jason Thompson
Seriously...does anyone outside of Sacramento give a shit about this team?

Your Dallas Mavericks!
Changes: Didn't do Jack Shit
Can you tell that I'm down on the Mavs? Look, I loved Desagiana Diop...at $1 mil per year, not at the ENTIRE FUCKING MIDLEVEL EXCPETION! That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Not only did the Mavs not trade Josh Howard, I didn't even hear them seriously shopping him.

Sadly, the Mavs have reached the point where their window has shut, and their only way to go from here is down. The only question that really remains is will Dirk be here in two to three years or not. We're going to have to rebuild and start over, and it saddens me to think of Dirk playing elsewhere.

The Mavs have only one hope: The Mavs flounder around the 7th or 8th seed til the trading deadline, and they are able to fleece someone by trading Jason Kidd (either fooling them with his potential like the Nets did to us, or using his expiring contract). Having Howard keep his nose clean and continue to put up his deceptive stats so the Mavs can do the same thing with him will also work. The Mavs then take the rest of the season to get to know one another, and head into next year with true chamionship asperations.

The odds of that happening are practically nil, especially with the ridiculous ineptitude that has been shown by the front office the last two years.

Houston Rockets
Changes: Traded Donte Green and Bobby Jackson for Ron Ron; signed Brent Barry
Sigh. We all know what I think of Ron Ron. However, I'll say this for the Rockets: they were never, ever going to get out of the first round of the West with only TMac and Yao. With Ron, at least it won't be the same old song for the Rockets. Now, of course, they can only hope he doesn't go nuts and cause them to miss the playoffs entirely instead of losing in the first round, of which he has a 50/50 shot to do.

Memphis Grizzlies
Changes: Swapped the following players and picks with Minnesota: Kevin Love & Mike Miller to the Wolves, added OJ Mayo; Drafted Darrell Arthur
The Grizz are the latest "intersting young team who will get KILLED this season, but have enough talent to give fans hope." BTW, Marc Gasol does not make the Pau trade fair. Let's stop that talk right now.

New Orleans Hornets
Changes: Signed James Posey from Celtics; lost Jannero Pargo (Europe)
Finally, a Western conference team who had a good offseason! Posey is the PERFECT addition to this team: a veteran player who still has plenty of gas in the tank who can put a very successful young team over the top. Did they slightly overpay Posey, as Hollinger from espn.com keeps lamenting? Yes, they did. But just slightly, and when you are this close to a championship, it's well worth it.

All was not perfect, however. The Hornets will miss Jannero Pargo. Still, they are probably my favorite in the West.

Denver Nuggets
Changes: Traded Marcus Camby to the Clippers for nothing; traded for Renaldo Balkman
I don't know what the Nuggets are doing. Obviously they are planning on blowing things up and starting over (the Camby trade shows that)...but then why resign JR Smith to a ridiculous contract? Another team that is going to get worse before it gets any better.

Minnesota Timberwolves
Changes: Traded OJ Mayo for Kevin Love and Mike Miller; traded for Rodney Carney from the Sixers
I like the Mayo for Love/Miller trade for the Wolves, though they absorbed too many contracts in the deal. They won't make the playoffs this year, but they will make more noise than they have since the KG glory days.

Oklahoma City Whatevers
Changes: Drafted Russell Westbrook and DJ White; traded Luke Ridnoir for Desmond Mason and Joe Smith
Good offseason for OKC. I'm not crazy on drafting Westbrook as some, but I don't think it was a bad pick. I like the Ridnoir trade: OKC had a glut of point guards, and picked up a fan fave who can contribute in Mason, and a veteran PF who can teach and still play in Smith. They'll get hammered again, but are moving in the right direction.

Portland Trailblazers
Changes: Drafted Greg Oden & Rudy Fernandez; Traded Jarrett Jack for Jerryd Bayless & Ike Diogu
The Blazers will make the playoffs this year. Period. Also...how ironic will it be if Rudy Frenandez ends up being the best rookie on the Blazers? We all know my disdain for Euro players, but Fernandez looked good in the Olympics, and especially so against the Redeem Team.

NBA Offseason Movements: Eastern Conference, 2008

WHEW. It's been a busy and surprising offseason, considering both what has happened and what hasn't happened. Let's jump in and take a look team by team (teams that stayed relatively pat I'll just skip. Teams that lost a significant player to free agency--like Boston losing James Posey--will be covered in the team they joined):

New Jersey Nets
Changes: Traded Richard Jefferson to the Bucks for Yi Jianlian & Bobby Simmons; signed Keyon Dooling, Jarvis Hayes, & Eduardo Najera; drafted Brooks Lopez; lost Nenad Kristic & Bostjon Nachbar to Europe.
The Nets had a great offseason. Why, you ask? Because every player they acquired comes off the books in 2010. Jay-Z is going to be able to offer Lebron a boatload of money, along with a good nucleus of Devin Harris, Sean Williams, and whoever he can get for trading Vince Carter in a contract year. If Yi or Brooks Lopez develop into anything, that's just an added bonus. The Nets will be mediocre the next two years while they wait for the King to come.

Philadelphia 76ers
Changes: Signed Elton Brand; resigned Lou Williams and Andre Iguodala.
Great offseason for the Sixers. Do I think this makes them a championship team? Not necessarily. They're paying Sam Dalembert wayyyyyy too much money, it remains to be seen if/how they're going to pay Andre Miller, who's a huge part of what makes this team click, and AI2 now has to become a clutch star to justify his contract. However, with these moves, they are unquestionably a top 4 team in the East, with the chance to be even better for years down the road. Great offseason.

Toronto Raptors
Changes: Traded TJ Ford to the Pacers for Jermaine O'Neal; re-signed Jose Calderon.
For once, the pundits were right: the Ford/O'Neal trade was a great trade for both teams. Count me among those who think O'Neal needed a change of scenery and will have a good season for the Raptors. He and Chris Bosh--who's gaining an incredible amount of confidence/respect/experience by his great play in Beijing--will team together to form perhaps the best PF/C tandem in the NBA, while getting rid of any potential distractions over the Ford/Calderon embrolio. The East is no longer The Least.

Chicago Bulls
Changes: Drafted Derrick Rose; resigned Luol Deng; did not resign Ben Gordon to a long term deal.
My favorite move the Bulls made? Refusing to resign the reigning most overrated player in the league, Ben Gordon. I can't stand that guy. However, they wayyyyy overpaid Luol Deng, who I also think is overrated (though not nearly as much as Gordon). This is still just an above-average team that isn't a deep playoff threat, though this team is one of the few that still has moves to make (what to do with Gordon/Hinrich/Hughes).

Cleveland Cavaliers
Changes: Acquired Mo Williams from the Bucks while losing Damon Jones and Joe Smith.
Mo Williams was an excellent addition for the Cavs. While normally shoot first PGs like Williams are terrible for a team, he is a great compliment to Lebron: the Cavs can run the offense through Mo half the time and Lebron the other half, with the two feeding off each other well. Losing Joe Smith hurts--especially if Big Ben is as done as we all think he is--but this was still a solid deal.

Indiana Pacers
Changes: Traded Jermaine O'Neal for TJ Ford; drafted Roy Hibbert; traded 1st round pick Jarrod Bayless for Jarrett Jack & Brandon Rush; will lose Jamaal Tinsley somehow.
In the second part of the O'Neal/Ford trade, the Pacers also win in that they get to move an unhappy player and acquire a player at a position they need to also unload another unhappy player (Tinsley). I also liked the Bayless trade; I don't think Bayless is going to amount to much in the league (successful shoot first PGs like Gilbert are a rarity), and Jack adds insurance for the inevitable Ford injury, while Rush is an outstanding rookie who will help the Pacers now and down the road. For the first time since the Artest Melee, this franchise is moving in the right direciton.

Milwaukee Bucks
Changes: Drafted Joe Alexander; traded Yi Jianlian & Bobby Simmons for Richard Jefferson; traded Mo Williams & Desmond Mason for Luke Ridnoir; signed Francisco Elson
The Bucks went from having an amazing offseason--stealing Richard Jefferson from the Nets for two disappointments--to a good one, by trading Mo Williams & Desmond Mason for Luke Ridnoir.
I don't think Ridnoir is as bad as it seems most people do; I think he's a decent PG. And God knows this team has enough shoot first players that they could afford to lose Williams. But to get so little in return--and to lose a valuable bench player in Mason on top of that--is really puzzling. I do, however, like the Elson signing: I think he's a good backup Center/PF. This team definitely got better this offseason, it just ends up feeling like they could have gotten even better than they did.

Atlanta Hawks
Changes: Lost Josh Cildress to Europe; singed Maurice Evans; resigned Josh Smith
Ah, the Hawks. After an impressive playoff run, the Hawks are back to what they do best: screwing things up. First, they let one of the more underrated players and their glue guy, Josh Childress, leave for Europe for an easily matchable contract. Next, they lost the, "Who will be dumb enough to pay Josh Smith lots of money?" contest by being dumb enough to pay Josh Smith lots of money. Let's just say I'm predicting a down year for Smith this year.
While I do like the Mo Evans signing, this team still definitely took a step back this offseason.

Charlotte Bobcats
Changes: Added Larry Brown as head coach; drafted D.J. Augustin; resigned Emeka Okafur.
Another meh offseason for the Bobcats. They signed Emeka Okafur, which is good. The signed him for way too much money when they could have got him for less, which is bad. D.J. Augustin slid to them in the draft, which is good. I think he won't be a good NBA player, which is bad. The added Larry Brown, which is good. They added Larry Brown after he's completely screwed the pooch on the last two teams he's been on (04 Olympics and Knicks), which is bad.
In the end, I think adding Brown will be make them a better team. But not enough better to where it will matter all that much.

Miami Heat
Changes: Added Dwyane Wade from injury; drafted Michael Beasley; added Shawn Marion from tanking last season; signed James Jones.
Count me among those who think the Heat will be vastly improved this season. It makes sense; the Heat tanked last season to get the top pick in the draft, and then have a (hopefully) motivated Michael Beasley fall to them at the second spot. Shawn Marion never really played for the Heat after coming over from the Suns last year, and DWade has obviously proven he is back to from in the Olympics.
This team still has enough holes--specifically PG and C--to make it an elite team, but they will be one of those "can beat any team on any given night" teams that scare the Hell out of the 1 or 2 seed they end up playing in the first round of the playoffs.

Orlando Magic
Changes: Lost Kenyon Dooling; signed Mickael Pietrus; lost Mo Evans; drafted Courtney Lee.
I think the league isn't making nearly a big enough deal about the coup the Magic pulled off by signing Mickael Pietrus. He's just a 6'6" athletic SG/SF--their biggest hole--who can shoot the 3 and is an outstanding defender. Great pickup for the Magic. If Courtney Lee can step up and give them some minutes off the bench, then they have a great rotation in place. They still have a hole at PG (you could argue whether the hole is starting or backup), but this team has improved from an excellent season last season.

Washington Wizards
Changes: Resigned Gilbert Arenas and Antoine Jamison; lost Jarvis Hayes; Added Etan Thomas (out all last season with an irregular heartbeat)
I think that the loss to the Cavs in the playoffs marked the beginning of the end of the Wizards. Jamison isn't getting any younger or better; and I don't think we're ever going to see the same Gilbert Arenas after his knee injury. Do I still think he'll be an All Star? Yes, barely. But the old days of top 10-15 player in the league dominance are over with for him. This is a team that with these contracts have committed itself to a slow death in the future.

Western Conference moves tomorrow. Enjoy!

Thoughts On The Olympics So Far...

* First of all, I'm not a huge fan of the Olympics. Never have been. While I admire the ideals of the Olympics and what they meant in the past, once the Cold War ended the Olympics stopped being about nationalistic pride and became just another modern competition where professional athletes can, would, and did do anything possible--including using performance enhancing drugs--to further their own careers. The myriad of sandals--both among the athletes themselves and the corrupt officials running the games--proved my point: the games had lost their luster.

This year, however, has been a bit different. There has been a bit of a return to the nationalistic pride in these games, for one simpler reason: we are witnessing the possible fading of one superpower and the emergence of another superpower, and the rising power is evil.

In other words, we've got a return to the Cold War/World War II games: democracy v communism/nazism, good v evil, right v wrong. I'm not going to go into the reasons why I consider China evil--that's a post in and of itself--but yes, I do see that country that way, and I believe most of America deep down inside does, too.

So that being said, here's what I think of as an intense and entertaining an Olympics we've had in years.

* Michael Phelps: really, what else can be said? This guy is simply amazing. I don't fully buy into "the greatest Olympian ever" debate as much as many; he might be, but just because Swimming hands out medals like Cracker Jacks doesn't mean he's necessarily eclipsed Jesse Owens, Al Orter, Carl Lewis, etc. I'm not saying he isn't part of that debate, and I could be convinced that he is the best. I'm just saying, we like to annoit the latest guy too easily. Anyway, Phelps is not only submitting a legendary performance, but he appears to be the perfect American hero: clean cut, good lucking, humble, entertaining. Good for Michael Phelps, the latest to join the long list of legends who have the greatest name in the history of the world.

* Does anyone know why America didn't have anyone compete in any of the Olympic weightlifting competitions? That seems odd to me. I also found it hilarious that China swept almost all weight classes for both sexes in the Olympics. Let me bring up for the first time the communist country cheating in the Olympics. Good times!

* Also include me among those worried about Team USA (basketball, of course). While they have looked impressive in their first two games, I'm still seeing the same old holes in this team: inconsistent three point shooting, bad half court offense, really bad half court defense. I'm very worried/excited about the game against Greece tomorrow; I'm ready to see how Team USA performs against a country where they can't force an insane number of turnovers that lead to easy breaks. I'm not saying their not going to lose, but if they have a game against one of the other good teams--Greece, Argentina, Lithuanis, Spain--where they can't get lots of turnovers and are cold from three point line, then yes, they will lose. And it's not out of the question that those two things happen in the same game.

* Congrats to the Men's gymnastics team for getting the Bronze. After losing two starters (the Hamm brothers) due to injury, they did a great job to medal. Did a coupla of the guys on the team choke? Yes. But a couple of the guys--most especially Sasha Artemev--went to the other side of the equation and turned in outstanding clutch performances. Good job to them for placing.

* Is the Spanish basketball team really stupid enough to think it's cool to make Chinese eyes? Maybe Team USA has a better chance than I thought.

* Andrea Kramer: would it really hurt you to smile every once in a while when doing a postgame interview?

* Is it just me, or is seeing an adult Shannon Miller in the Claritin commercials creepy?

* Yes, I understand that softball is our sport and we should win the gold like the Dream Team did in Barcelona, but it's still pretty damn impressive to throw a no hitter against the Silver medal team in the 2004 Olympics. Great job, Cat Osterman.

* Finally, a word on the women's team gymnastics, which China won the gold in last night while the US took home the silver. First of all, I feel for Alicia Sacramone, who had two costly errors that did cost the US the gold. This is a girl who obviously wanted the gold so badly that it hurt her performance. You always feel for an athlete like that. So nice try, good job, and take solace in the silver.

She can also take solace, however, in the fact that they really won the gold. Why, do you ask? Because the Chinese cheated. There is an age floor of 16 to compete in the gymnastics.

I don't think a single member of the Chinese team was 16. I think most of them were between 10-12 years old. I think the Captain of the team might be 16. I think she's really about 14, but at least she's close enough that you can kind of by it. The rest of the team, however, is UNQUESTIONABLY 10-12 years old. One of the girls weighs 68 pounds! She's so short she can walk under the balance beam without ducking! THERE IS NO FUCKING 16 YEAR OLD GIRL IN THE WORLD WHO CAN DO THAT!!!!!

This is one of those lies that's even worse because it's so insulting bad. I challenge anyone to look at those girls and honestly tell me they think they're 16. You can't do it. You just can't.

So congratulations US girls. In the end, you really should have won the gold.

French Military History In A Nutshell

PJ's note: I can't claim credit to this joke; I got this from a buddy who I believe got it from a web site somewhere. However, I felt it was definitely worth sharing. I'm not saying it's 100% correct...but like most good jokes, there's more truth than the butt would probably like to admit.

 Gallic Wars: Lost. In a war whose ending foreshadows the next 2000 years of French history, France is conquered by—of all things—an Italian.
 Hundred Years War: Mostly Lost. Saved at last by a female schizophrenic who inadvertently creates The First Rule of French Warfare: “France’s armies are victorious only when not led by Frenchmen.”
 Italian Wars: Lost. France becomes the first and only country ever to lose two wars when fighting Italians.
 Wars of Religion: Lost. France goes 0-5-4 against the Huguenots.
 Thirty Years War: France is technically not a participant, but manages to get invaded anyway. Claims a tie on the basis that eventually the other participants started ignoring her.
 War of Devolution: Tied. Frenchmen take to wearing red flowerpots as chapeaux.
 The Dutch War: Tied. Woo hoo.
 War of the Augsburg League/King William’s War/French & Indian War: Lost, though they claim a tie. Deluded Frogophiles the world over label the period as the height of French Military Power.
 American Revolution: In a move that will become quite familiar to future Americans, France claims a win even though the English colonists saw far more action. This is later known as the “De Gaulle Syndrome”, and leads to The Second Rule of French Warfare: “France only wins when America does most of the fighting.”
 French Revolution: Won. Primarily due to the fact that the opponent was also French.
 The Napoleonic Wars: Lost. Temporary victories (remember the First Rule!) due to leadership of a Corsican, who ended up being no match for a British footwear designer.
 The Franco-Prussian War: Lost. Germany first plays the role of drunk Frat boy to France’s ugly girl home alone on a Saturday night.
 WWI: Tied, with losing inevitable. France is saved from defeat by the intervention of the United States. Thousands of French women find out what it’s like not only to sleep with a winner, but one who doesn’t call her “Fraulein.” Sadly, widespread use of condoms by American forces forestalls any improvement in the French bloodline.
 WWII: Lost. Conquered French liberated by Britain and the United States (again) just as they finish learning the Horst Wessel Song.
 War in Indochina: Lost. French forces plead ill, bedridden with Dien Bien Flu.
 Algerian Rebellion: Lost. Loss marks the first defeat of a Western army by a Non-Turkic Muslim force since the Crusades, and produces The First Rule of Muslim Warfare – “We can always beat the French.” This rule is identical to the First Rules of the Italians, Russians, Germans, English, Dutch, Spanish, Vietnamese, and Eskimos.
 War on Terrorism: France, keeping in mind its recent history, surrenders to Germans & Muslims just to be safe.

Coupla Things...

* I don't have a particular video to show you in this instance; instead I'd like to point out a new site called Hulu. This is apparently network TV's answer to youtube. It has many popular TV shows in excellent quality on it, with about 3 commercials per episode. It's a good site, and it's growing.

* Congratulations to Nick Johnson, one of my buddies from college and a frequent reader. Nick got married this past weekend. You da man Nick!

* This is old news, but I just saw it the other day: part of me respects Tracy McGrady for being brutually honest whenever you ask him a question. Part of me, though, doesn't respect him because the reason he is so honest is he is apparently one of the most selfcentered people in the world. I find this article from the All Star game last year indicative of that dilemma. I agreed with him pre-All Star game (which, in fairness, ended up being safe and a good experience) that it was a very risky decision to host the All Star game there that soon. However, this is yet another example of TMac just looking out for number 1 at the expense of anyone else in the world.

* Some further thoughts on this week's list, My Top Five Favorite Weapons in Halo 3, while emphasizing that these are my favorite weapons, not necessarily the most powerful, most effective, or most frequently used weapons:

+ Energy Sword: The timeless classic.
+ Flame Thrower: If roasting your enemies alive in their armor is wrong, then I don't want to be right. Nothing beats lighting an opponent on fire while screaming, "Burn Bitch!" at him. Unfortunately, this is probably the least effective weapon in the game.
+ Spiker: I consider the spiker to be one of the most underated weapons in the game. Dual wielded spikers are excellent close quarter machine guns, just as effective as the Assault Rifle and dual wielded Submachine guns, and much more effective than the Battle Rifle, Plasma Rifle, or Needler. They are also OUTSTANDING melee weapons--the best melee weapon of any gun. Great weapon.
+ Gravity Hammer: One hit kill, incredibly loud slam, so powerful it throws you towards another wall. What's not to love about this bad boy?
+ Submachine gun: Not only is it an extremely effective close quarter weapon when dual wielded, the Sub makes the coolest noise of any weapon in the game. It sounds like you're firing 10 million bullets in a second. It's awesome.

* I hate that song Hey There Delilah with all my heart and soul. It drives me up the wall, for two reasons: one, it's a shitty, ridiculously sappy and boring guitar solo of some hippie promising his girlfiend that one day, his band will make it big. Any rational human would of course encourage her to dump said loser and move on with her life.

What's even more frustrating, however, is that this piece of crap song has actually made it big, so the guy's right! His guitar has paid off in the end! And for that piece of garbage. It frustrates me to no end.

* So I work out from time to time at the Rowlett LA fitness (usually I work out at the Plano one). This place is different from any place I've ever worked out, ever, and mostly not in good ways, but in kind of creepy ways. For example:

# The place is made up almost eqclusively of white people. Like, 85%. I've never wroked out with this many white folks before in Texas.
# I would say that 75% of the men working out there are active steroid users. These guys are fucking HUGE, and have many of the other telltale signs of roid use.
# Even more suprisingly, I'd say about 10% of the women there are also roid users. I've seen at least five women there who are twice as defined as I am, and look like they would have no problem at all kicking my ass--and I'm 6'7" 240.
# Almost everyone there has a tattoo. It's amazing. Guys, girls, high school kids, old people: everyone. It's creepy. I saw a dude in the locker room the other day who had angels wings tattooed on his back. His entire back was covered in this! It was like the serial killer in Red Dragon! And of course, this guy was your stereotypical roid meathead: shaved head, goattee, 5'10", 240 with arms as big as my thighs, looked like he would drop dead if he had to run a block to catch the bus. With his entire back covered in angel's wings.

Let's just say it's an interesting place.

* !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sadly, for the first time ever, I've had to censor myself. A dark day, my friends.

* This is some of the craziest shit I've ever heard of. That poor guy. It's not part of the article anymore, but when the story was reported all the Canucks would say was that they were investigating a "major incident". Yeah, I'd say this is a major incident eh.

* I've played basketball with some of the best basketball players in the world. That being said, I'd still say that David Boguslawski is the best defensive player I've ever played with. He alone is worth coming to our Sunday night league to watch play.

* Maybe this has happened already, but if it hasn't, I'm betting in the next five years it happens: I expect the subjects of a song to sue for royalties. I thought of this while listenting to Taylor Swift sing about that dude Drew in Teardrops On My Guitar (can you tell they pipe in XM at work, or what? I hear nothing but the top 100 of the last 30 years). It dawned on me, "I wonder if Drew could sue for royalties, saying she would never have this huge hit without him?" It's almost like alimony. Do I support this? No. But I bet it's going to happen that someone tries to make some money with this route.

Another funny thing about that song is that on XM (I think it's channel 25) they play that song every other day at 3:30. Literally, like within 10 minutes of 3:30. Obviously XM is warping what is left of my fragile little mind.

* I'm starting a new list: The "Special Place in Hell" list. It's for people who do those ridiculously rude/annoying/dangerous/egotistical things that make you think, "Man, I hope there is a Special Place in Hell reserved for you. Obviously this isn't for run of the mill evil stuff, like murder or being friends with Pacman Jones. This is for stuff like:

! People who don't rack their weights in the weight room
! People who don't pick up their puppy's poop
! People who pace alongside 18 wheelers on the highway
! People who drop out of XBox Live games when they are about to lose

Feel free to leave comments as to who you think should be added to the SPiH list.

* My NBA Offseason moves blog is coming. I'm waiting for Josh Smith and AI2 to sign before I write that. As soon as they do, it's on.

* And, finally, a bit of good news for the world. I am a huge fan of the Thin Mint, the riciculously good Girl Scout's cookie. Well, Dairy Queen has a Thin Mint blizzard out right now, and--for the first time in years--I stopped by DQ and tried one.

Now, I'm not one who's prone to exaggeration...but this might be the greatest creation man has ever wrought. The culmination of our existance is quite possibly The Thin Mint Blizzard. All of recorded history could have led to this act, and everything the future holds is simply the downward slope leading to our inevitable oblivion.

Now, I'm just saying it might be. I'm not saying for sure. But there is a strong possibility.

So go enjoy yourself a DQ Thin Mint Blizzard. You deserve it :-)