BFG

I'm in. If I can't be in EWB Fantasy Football, I'll just have to take this one over.

I liked the Confessions CD.

So what, it's a good CD.

...Yeah, allegedly according to Wiki, one of the leaked tracks features Joel of Good Charlotte and another features Andy Milonakis...I hope for his sake, that's not true because...what a horrid new album that would be. (That is if it gets released any time soon. The album's been pushed back for a while now.)

And Jermaine's not a total failure sales-wise, but I certainly can't think of anything from him that's really pushed the genre of rap the same way Jigga has. Now, I can't say Jay-Z's done anything vastly better in his tenure as Def Jam's leader, but I honestly think Rihanna, Lady Sovereign, The Roots, and Nas is a tad bit better to run with then Dem Franchize Boyz, Bow Wow, Usher, and J-Kwon.

A digital iTunes record label too? Really?

How dumb is that. I mean it only appeals to teens, that actually have iTunes and credit cards. Yeah, adults can get it easy on iTunes, but the majority of people who listen to Jigga are, what I'm estimating 16-24. Somebody can't go out and get a copy of a new CD, they would have to sign on and download it, so it's on their computer, but not on a hard CD copy?

And yeah, JD makes bank. He doesn't really fail, he just takes chances. Yeah, J-Kwon didn't do all that well, and DFB isn't all that good. And Janet's CD didn't go platinum. So what? He's going to keep trying new things. And supposedly J-Kwon's coming out with a sophomore album Louisville Slugger. I'll give it a listen to. Why not?

Lol to Ryno.

But yeah I gotta go with Timbawolf halfway. Yuk is pretty damn hard on the Operation Stackola and the Silver and Black CD. Better than Game? For sure. But is he bigger than Game? Not on the mainstream scene. You'll see more people buying his CD's, and seeing him in the movies, etc. But yeah in Cali, it's all about Tha Luniz!

In The Show, can you actually play your minor league games during a season? And if so, is there all the AAA, AA, and A? That's something I really miss in MVP Baseball, they don't have the option to play them in 2K7.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19868741

That is what ACCBiggz is talking about. It's pretty crazy to hear something like that.

But I'd rather talk about something else. I do love the Stevie Franchise going back to Houston. It's a good move Houston.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/6420AP...tml?source=mypi

And when Seattle traded a conditional 2nd round pick to Phoenix for Kurt Thomas (and his huge contract), a 2008 1st round pick, and a 2010 1st round pick, so Phoenix could free some cap, it looks like the smartest trade of all time for Seattle, but the more and more I think about it, it just makes Seattle look even more like they're trying to build for the future, so they will be set when they move to either Oklahoma or Kansas City. They already traded away Ray and Rashard, they're going to try and draft even more 1st rounders.

God it's hard being a Seattle resident, when you know they're trading away their top stars for the future relocation. It sucks.

Well, personally I think MLB 2K7 tops all the baseball games now, but I have it on the PS3, and I tried it on the PS2, and it actually was different, and not that good. If you can handle having the rosters a little outdated, MVP Baseball 2005 is the best PS2 baseball game out there. And if you want the rosters newer, there's websites out there such as right here for CAP's and roster transaction history to update your rosters, and make them realistic/new. And I'm sure that MVP 2005 is a lot cheaper now that it's 2 years old.

http://www.thesportslodge.com/forum/index.php?showforum=5

Oh, as a producer, I think he's far from overrated, I'm talking strictly as a rapper in his own right.

His stuff is different, and can be catchy as all hell, but he's not the greatest thing since Tupac. Honestly, he's kinda like Eazy-E to me, where he's catchy, and entertaining, but he's more of a sideshow to the kind of rap I like, and even making that comparison is sketchy to me, because I'm an unabashed west coast fanboy, and adore Eazy.

http://search.cityguide.aol.com/losangeles...cation/v-103570

Michael Myers was a whack job who killed his older sister on Halloween night in 1963 for no apparent reason. Because he was, as previously mentioned, a whack job, Myers was locked up in Smith's Grove Sanitarium until he broke out fifteen years later and started murdering young women again. Wearing an eerie white mask and wielding a butcher knife, Myers slashed his way through Haddonfield - focusing primarily on nubile babysitters. Luckily, Michael Myers isn't real -- but the popularity of the 'Halloween' movie franchise is -- since the original 'Halloween' movie starring Jamie Lee Curtis a total of six movies featuring Mad Mike have been made.

The town of Haddonfield is mythical -- all filming for the original film was done in the greater LA area -- but the houses of several of Myer's ''victims'' are real. Orange Grove Avenue, just off of W. Sunset Boulevard, is home to several older homes that were featured in the films. The most well known is the house at 1537 -- this is where Annie, Laurie's (Ms. Curtis') best friend, is murdered while babysitting in the original 1978 film. Laurie's own house, seen only briefly in the film, is located at 1530. Other principle photography was done in South Pasadena, notably the ramshackle Myers home -- the refurbished building now houses a chiropractic clinic.

Honestly, I don't think it'll turn out good for the Wii. I read the articles on it, and how you could powerbomb guys by picking them up with the Wiimote and slamming them down, etc. But I'm not really impressed. I mean, I'm not going to judge people who like 5 moves in a match, but if the Wii has basic controls, could fans really enjoy that? Maybe I'm being PS3/PS2 biased, but I just think it's not a great idea to release it on the Wii. Maybe it'll do good though. Excited for the game though. Hope they updated the CAWs, and can't wait to make some classic ECW stars now that ECW will be incorporated more. Mikey Whipwreck CAW? Why, please and thank you.

Woot! This is my kind of topic. A lot of underground/alternative hip-hop is out there. If you'd like to discuss this further I'm more than willing to talk about this on AIM or MSN.

Anyway, here's a pretty brief list of what I'd consider "essentials". Some of these artists I wouldn't necessarily count as underground, but if you don't listen to them you should.

A Tribe Called Quest

Cyne

CunninLynguists

Aesop Rock

Hieroglyphics

The Roots

The Pharcyde

Nujabes

Immortal Technique

Brother Ali

MF DOOM

Madvillain

Busdriver

Take your pick.

Blue Scholars. They're really good. Their best songs are The Ave, Evening Chai, No Rest For The Weary, and Southside Revival. Listen to them, you'll like it. Sounds like some classic hip hop, only it's new.

5 Star Songs : Self Explanatory.

Bay. Period : From the Bay Area. Keak Da Sneak, E-40, Mac Dre, Too $hort, Celly Cel, Dru Down, Luniz, Mistah F.A.B., Richie Rich, Spice 1, etc.

Detox : All the leaked/unreleased songs that are rumored to be on what has been the most hyped album ever, Detox by Dr. Dre, and the Aftermath family.

Lyrically I... : A collection of hip hop artists who play good music. Nas, Talib Kweli, Kanye West, Mos Def, Gang Starr, Big L, Blue Scholars, Dilated Peoples, Eric B. & Rakim, The Roots, Royce Da 5'9, Slum Village, Papoose. Lyricism here, not loud knock and beats.

Radio Los Santos : Lol yeah the radio playlist from San Andreas. It's a good mix.

Recently Added : Yep.

Recently Played : Another default, self explanatory playlist.

Those SLOW Jams : Whenever needed. Earth, Wind & Fire. KCi & JoJo. Robin Thicke. Keith Sweat. Donell Jones. Lots more.

Top 100 Played : Most played songs.

I know I'm late, but still want to get in predictions for the hell of it, before 1st round ends.

MICHAEL JORDAN BRACKET

July 1: (1) Tiger Woods def (8) Matt Leinart

July 2: (4) Dwyane Wade def (5) Shaun White

July 3: (2) LaDainian Tomlinson def (7) David Beckham

July 4: (3) Steve Nash def (6) Serena Williams

MUHAMMAD ALI BRACKET

July 5: (1) Peyton Manning def (8) Amanda Beard

July 6: (4) Dale Earnhardt Jr vs (5) Chuck Liddell

July 7: (2) Alex Rodriguez vs (7) Terrell Owens

July 8: (3) Kobe Bryant vs (6) Ronaldinho

BILLIE JEAN KING BRACKET

July 9: (1) LeBron James vs (8) Kelly Slater

July 10: (4) Jeff Gordon vs (5) Barry Bonds

July 11: (2) Derek Jeter vs (7) Sidney Crosby

July 12: (3) Reggie Bush vs (6) Danica Patrick

BABE RUTH BRACKET

July 13: (1) Tom Brady vs (8) David Ortiz

July 14: (4) Maria Sharapova vs (5) Vince Young

July 15: (2) Roger Federer vs (7) Tony Parker

July 16: (3) Shaquille O'Neal vs (6) Michael Phelps

MICHAEL JORDAN BRACKET

(1) Tiger Woods vs (4) Dwayne Wade

(2) LaDanian Tomlinson vs (3) Steve Nash

MUHAMMAD ALI BRACKET

(1) Peyton Manning vs (5) Chuck Lidell

(2)Alex Rodriguez vs (3) Kobe Bryant

BILLIE JEAN KING BRACKET

(1) LeBron James vs (5) Barry Bonds

(3) Reggie Bush vs. (7) Sidney Crosby

BABE RUTH BRACKET

(1) Tom Brady vs (5) Vince Young

(2) Roger Federer vs (3) Shaquille O'Neal (Shaq was then, not now)

(1) Tiger Woods vs. (2) LaDanian Tomlinson

(1) Peyton Manning vs. (3) Kobe Bryant

(1) LeBron James vs. (3) Reggie Bush

(1) Tom Brady vs. (2) Roger Federer

(1) Tiger Woods vs. (1) Peyton Manning

(1) LeBron James vs. (2) Roger Federer

(1) Tiger Woods vs. (1) LeBron James

New information about Yi:

Questions surround his real birthdate, as his official passport and hukou (residency papers) in China have him listed as being born on October 27, 1987. However, it has been rumored that his date of birth may have been intentionally falsified so he could play in junior competitions. The estimates of his birth year are between 1981 and 1984. In 2004, he was listed as being born in 1984 in China's Four Nation Tournament, although authorities said it was only a "typo". NBA draft site DraftExpress.com also listed him as being born in 1984. A news reporter from WEEI in Boston, Mickey Adams, who can speak Mandarin and Cantonese can confirm in private conversations that Yi is not really sure how old he is but believes he was born in 1984 because of a baby picture of himself with a newspaper dated December 29, 1984 in the background.

The Houston Chronicle's Fran Blinebury reported that Yi told Shane Battier he was 24 in an exhibition game before the 2006 FIBA World Championship. If this statement were true, it would place Yi's year of birth in either 1981 or 1982 (the 2006 Worlds were held in August and September, before Yi's listed birth date of October 27). However, a Chinese newspaper reported that Battier disavowed the comment attributed to him.Yi has gone on record saying that he did not talk to Battier about his age and that he was born in 1987 and that anyone saying anything else would be slandering him.

I find this story hilarious. It shows even more so how dumb the Bucks are.

Credit: http://www.sportsline.com/collegefootball/story/10246607

Start-up pro football leagues seem to make a lot of people stupid.

Otherwise rational beings have thrown good money after bad trying to capitalize on the nation's appetite for the sport.

• Donald Trump was practically running the USFL when it folded after the 1985 season. (Or maybe it folded because The Donald was running it.)

• California lawyer Gary Davidson helped found three pro leagues in eight years from the late 1960s to the mid-1970s (American Basketball Association, World Hockey Association, World Football League). All three folded but only the WFL doesn't have a former franchise that still exists today.

• Nobody ever said Vince McMahon was a genius, just a shameless money-grubbing shlub. A moment of silence, please, for the one-and-done XFL.

• Even the high and mighty NFL admitted failure, folding NFL Europa last week after 16 seasons.

Which leads us to the new members of The Foolish Club. Scheduled to kick off next spring, the All American Football League has one sugar daddy (millionaire Marcus Katz of San Diego) and a bunch of high-minded former college administrators bent on spending that cash.

Besides that, what does the AAFL have that the other pretenders didn't? Passion, for one. Franchises will more or less be located in college football hotbeds (Gainesville, Knoxville, Birmingham for starters). That's the reason that The Swamp has a team and the Orange Bowl doesn't.

"Teams tied to big-time universities, not fickle universities like the University of Miami," said former Florida receiver Travis McGriff, who joined 400 others trying out in Orlando this week. "They have an awful fan base despite their success."

It, as they say, is on. Sure, McGriff's trash talking sounds like an XFL outtake. But in a couple of sentences he summed up what McMahon couldn't summon in that one avert-your-eyes season in 2001. Without having snapped a ball, the AAFL actually (hopefully?) means something to the people who will (hopefully?) watch it.

Think Florida vs. Georgia or Tennessee vs. Alabama -- in May. Same stadiums, same colors. In some cases, the same (but older) players.

"I got back from our first meeting," said AAFL board member Gene Corrigan, the 79-year-old former ACC commissioner and Notre Dame athletic director. "I talked to a bunch of coaches in the ACC. They said, 'Man, what a great idea.' ... That's really all it is. It's high Triple A football."

Telling people it's minor league football might not be the best strategy. But after all the other failures, why lie? The league is evolving as something between NFL Lite and NCAA-Plus. Faded stars, maybe, but athletes who must have their degrees in order to play in the new league.

"Guys might think that school is a necessary evil," McGriff said. "'I want to play in the NFL, but if I don't, I better get my degree, because there's this other league.' The league is very much so trying to project an image. First class people and good students who got their degrees."

In other words, He Hate Me is being replaced by He Helped Me (With Tuition).

Players will be placed in the city of their alma maters as much as possible, wearing their schools colors. In a 7-on-7 tryout scrimmage this week former Florida quarterback Shane Matthews quarterbacked the Floridas against the Tennessees.

"That was the very first thought I had that got my motor running," said McGriff, a 31-year-old former NFL and Arena League player, "to play in those colors, it's such nostalgia. For players, it just kind of tugs at your heart, when you leave college you never get to do it again. You don't get to do it again in this league, but you do."

Prospective coaches are faded stars themselves. Jackie Sherrill, Jim Donnan, Bob Pruett and R.C. Slocum are some of the names being tossed around. But no one will be coming to watch the coaches.

The essence remains wringing all the wild-eyed football devotion out of the Southeast as possible. Katz, 59, is a Georgia alum -- a rabid Dawg -- who lives in La Jolla, Calif. He made is money in the 90s developing a successful student-loan business. It's his financial stake -- projected to be as high as $50 million -- that will help kick off the league. It will have to. There is no TV contract.

There is a buzz, if only slight. In the dog days of summer, it's something to write about for those of us who can't wait for the college game to start. The league has gotten incredible attention considering it already has postponed its launch once. The number of franchises isn't exactly known either.

But the idea is interesting. Katz says he is firming up a deal to play in Little Rock, with the help of outgoing Arkansas AD Frank Broyles. Tennessee (Neyland Stadium), Raleigh (North Carolina State) and West Lafayette, Ind. (Purdue) might get teams. The Florida franchise might move around, playing games in Gainesville, Jacksonville and Tampa.

And the only competition, it seems, would be the swimming pool. The league would start after most schools complete spring practice and end in July.

The tryouts Monday and Tuesday in Orlando were by invitation only. The league hopes to capitalize on NFL cuts and conduct another tryout in September. The folding of NFL Europa puts more players on the market.

"There's an emotional attachment (to a school)," Katz said. "It becomes like a part of you. There's a lot of people that care. If we can transcend that gap and make the games fun we'll succeed. ... If I could have picked my first profession, it would have been a football coach. The second profession would be a sportswriter."

That's scary enough, without taking a look at the AAFL's board of directors. Katz' neighbor, board chairman Cedric Dempsey, once ran the NCAA as its executive director. There's Corrigan, former UCLA chancellor Charles Young and Doug Dickey, the former coach at Tennessee and Florida.

At one point or another, they were all very, very good at spending other people's money.

Strange how quickly they all traded the amateur ideal for a shot at pro glory. It is assumed that none of them have their own stake in the league. It's also assumed that fans aren't going to be lured by senior citizen administrators either. They are glorified consultants. This league of extraordinary gentlemen was astounded at the research done by the league's marketing firm, Octagon.

People really do want to see the Travis McGriffs of the world. Or, conceivably, Heisman winner Eric Crouch back playing for a Nebraska franchise. The financial model is ambitious. At least initially, franchises will be owned by the league. Salaries will top out at $75,000. Rosters will be limited to 40-45. Katz has predicted a sellout at The Swamp (capacity: 89,000) for the opener.

Minor league, you say? Not everyone involved in a start-up is stupid. Consider one of the few pro leagues to succeed. The Arena League is played indoors and has prospered with a bunch of no names capitalizing on the uniqueness of its game.

"That's what this league is," McGriff said, "It's something fans haven't seen. My analogy is, your college playing days are your undergrad degree. This is graduate school. It's such an intriguing idea to me."

I feel so lucky right now. Being a Seattle citizen, and a Simpson's fan, I'm excited, and I should be. It'll be fun to see one.

You made this? Damn, it's good. Really good color choices, all blends well perfectly, and the bricks goes. Good job.

And bfgthefuture, your "let them play and let law the law handle it" view is stupid because like Chris Henry, if he's been arrested umpteen times and isn't going to jail how do you think that affects the league's image? The NFL isn't just football, it's a business and in the best interest of the business, suspsensions have to be handed out if dumbasses don't get the point that just because you make a lot money doesn't mean you're above the law. Goodell is good for the game and the league and anybody who "hates" him because he's cleaning the league up of all the dumbasses who think they're untouchable, really needs to open their eyes and see that the NFL isn't just a bunch of people playing football, it's just like any other business in the US.

In other news, Goddell mentioned something about putting something into the helmets where qb's could communicate with their offenseive line and wrs effectivley nulling all home field advantage.

Doesn't it look like Illgauskas is just hobbling down the court? And what's up with Pavlovic? How many shots is he gonna miss before he realizes somebody else needs to be taking shots? (excluding LBJ of course) That 3 ball by LeBron James right there..... Scored 27 of the Cavs last 28, somebody else make a shot!!! Most effort put in by a player all of playoffs though, maybe all season. Great game so far for sure.

Eric Snow is like, Goldberg from the Mighty Ducks. He kinda sucks, he ain't anybody's favorite, but can come through in some damn clutch moments.

Also, that shot LeBron just hit=critics who say he can't finish silenced.

Go Cavs! I hate these new Pistons, nothing like the Pistons of the past. Hopefully LeBron hits these free throws to get that lead.