The Kobe Era

We live in eras. Whether it's sporting eras, political eras, fashions eras, they are things that we never really accept and appreciate until its over and we look back at it. With all this LeBron hating, and Kevin Durrant Lovin' I wanted to remind everybody who the best player on Earth still is. Kobe Bean Bryant. His greatness seems to be overshadowed by....well I don't know really, but lets just looks at a few things:
-5-time NBA champion: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2009, 2010
-7 NBA Finals appearances: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2010
-2-time NBA Finals MVP: 2009, 2010
-NBA MVP 2008
-2 Time Scoring Champion 2006, 2007
-12 All-Star Appearances 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010
-3-time NBA All-Star Game MVP: 2002, 2007, 2009
-12-time All-NBA selection:
First team: 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010
Second team: 2000, 2001
Third team: 1999, 2005
-10-time All-Defensive selection:
First team: 2000, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010
Second team: 2001, 2002
-NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion: 1997
-2nd most points in a game: 81

This really and truly is not even half of his achievements. He is the greatest basketball player in my lifetime. This is the Kobe Bryant era. For the last 14 years he has cause complete havoc for defenses. There are a few things i would like to emphasize. Kobe Bryant is a 5-time NBA Champion. 2-time Finals MVP and 8-first team all defense. People love to compare him to Jordan, really cause, there is no one
else to compare him with. This speaks volumes. I want people to realize what we're witnessing when we watch him play. Kobe will go down as arguably the second best basketball player ever. BronBron is great, not Kobe great. Wade is unbelievable, not 81 unbelievable. We need to appreciate this. Players like this don't come around often.

Jake Davis: Test Shots With Tanaya Henry

Jake Davis Test Shots: Tanaya Henry from Jake Davis on Vimeo.

Really isn't much to say. Jake Davis comes through again for K*Swiss. I need this sweater. The same exact one from this video.

Melo's Bulls > The East?

With all these Carmelo Anthony trade rumors going around, there are other rumors spawning from those rumors. One of the more ridiculous ones is if Melo went to the Bulls, then they'd be the favorite to win the East over Bean-Town or the The Evil Trio on south beach. Calm on guys. Seriously? In order to get Melo first of all the Bulls would have to park ways with at least Joakim Noah, a Taj Gibson, or maybe even a Loul Deng. And don't get me wrong, that trade would make the Bulls a better team. But lets take a look at the match ups if they played the C's or The Evil Trio.
First off if they went up against the C's in the playoffs, the veteran guys in Bean Town would pick apart this Bulls team. Up front the Bulls have Booz, a 60 something year old Kurt Thomas, and the great Omer Asik. Old KG would still be enough to handle that front line by himself at this tender age. Not to mention a health Perkins, the energetic Big Baby, and the 2 O'Neals. Advantage C's. OK so now lets go to the backcourt play. Who on the Bulls is going to stop/slow down/hinder the C's best player in Paul Pierce? that task will undoutably be given to Melo. While Melo has never been known for the defensive end. So the Small Forward matchup could be a toss up. Next Ray Allen? In the battle of the shooters with him against the inconsistent Kyle Korver, I'd give the edge to the future Hall-A-Famer. Point? Well thats a toss up cause both have the ability to help their teams win in a big way. But Rando has been doing it for years. All in all, the C's are just too big, too deep, and too battle tested.

Next the Miami Heat vs a Melo featured Bulls team. This honestly might be a better match up for the Bulls. The point guard position will be one that the Bulls will have to exploit. Booz vs Bosh will be a great match up to follow, and could be one that decides a series between these two teams. The main reason why I give the C's the advantage is their front court is so dam deep upfront. I'd imagine BronBron would guard Rose to slow him down and try to disrupt the offense. How well BronBron can contain Rose will go along way to help the Heat's chances in winning a playoff series. But to flip the script and play devils advocate, who's going to gaurd Bron? or Wade? I'd imagine that Ronnie Brewer would be given the BronBron responsibilities. How about the benches? Can Melo and the Bulls stop the onslaught of threes that will rain down from Miller, or House? The Bulls starting five would be nice. Real Nice. But their bench lacks proven depth. The Heat and the C's should still be considered the favorites in the East, even with a Melo Lead Bulls.

Lil Wayne Feat Drake - Gonorrhea

Lil Wayne featuring Drake - Gonorrhea (Tagged)

Melo On The Move

Let the auction begin. The Denver Nuggets are supposedly listening to offers about dealing their franchise player, Carmelo Anthony. The summer of 2010 continues. Carmelo has been pushing for a trade for the better part of the summer and for the first time, it looks like the Denver Nuggets are starting to give in. There will be many suitors for the services of one of the L's most talented scorers. Many people have speculated about Melo joining up with Amar'e Stoudemire in the big apple. Other sources have Houston as the leader to get Melo. From a purely basketball standpoint, I dont know how well Melo would do in D'Antonie's running style system. To me at least, Melo seems like a half court player. Getting a lot of his points out of sets run for him in the half court game. I see Houston as a great fit for Melo, or maybe the Clip-Show? How about Orlando? There are many possibilities here, and its going to be interesting to see how these dominoes fall.

Cement III's For Spring 2011.

Let the classic continue to pour in. SNEAKERNEWS provides us with some shots of MJ's fav shoe re-releasing this upcoming spring, the cement III's. Few differences appear on this ones if any, like the cracks in the Jordan infamous "elephant print." These are the first confirmed pics of these re-retroed classics, so sit back and start saving. Two pairs is a must.

Weezy F. Showing Off his Black Light Tatts

Hidden Message In Children Toys?

Lil Wayne. Dedication 4?

Lil Wayne will be dropping a mixtape by year's end, as his manager hinted at yesterday in an interview. "I'm Not A Human Being," the aunto-tuned heavy lp will also be releasing on September 27th. DJ Drama as also has been on the record for saying that the mixtape will be Wayne's fourth installment of the Dedication Series.

Cool Grey Retro V's For Summer of 2011

2011 is shaping up the be the best year in Jordan releases since 2008. With already confirmed releases of cement 3's, Bordeaux 7's 2011 is going to be a camp out year for sure. Here is another confirmed retro dubbed "Cool Grey 5s." Interesting to say the least, with a clear/blueish tint for the bottoms give it a nice icy effect. Definitely can't wait for these to drop.

D. Rose Is Cutting Onions.

Mad Funny. Basketball season can't come soon enough.

Running Into 400 Million

The fastest man ever has just been a whole lot richer too. Reports are that PUMA has resigned the Jamaican sprinter to a new deal that could be worth 400 million dollars. Yes you read right, 400 million U.S. dollars. The charismatic 24 year old holds the world records for the men's 100m and 200m race. I still find this number to be inflated, but many people are reporting this same number.
Of side note, Jamaica's Nester Carter ran the 4th fastest time ever in the in the Men's 100m, with a blazing time of 9.78 seconds.

Michael Jordan Breaks The Backboard

I just saw this interesting video from SneakerNews. It has the G.O.A.T. shattering a backboard with a monster jam. The thing is that why is Jordan playing for this Italian Team in 1986? Supposedly this game wasn't even televised either? Well who cares really? Not only does MJ break the backboard, but he's also wearing the shoes that started it all. The original Jordan I's. Classic MJ. Enjoy!

Lacoste Does A Try At the Now Trendy Clarks Style Boot

The brand Clarks has been a whole lot a attention latley. The has been a number of brands who have set out to emulate the Clarks Boot. Here is an actual one that I see that actually looks good. These are done by Lacoste for their Fall/Winter line this year.

Austin Rivers Mixtape

Austin Rivers's basketball skills can be described in many ways. I prefer to use stupid, ill, nasty, disgusting, amazing, sick. Sound about right? This high school senior at from Winter Park Fla., is going to make some college a whole hell of alot better next year (Florida, Duke, Kentucky are top 3). Peep one of his many mixtapes.

Jake Davis: Test Shots With Joshua Kissi

Jake Davis Test Shots: Joshua Kissi from Jake Davis on Vimeo.

Interesting video from Jake Davis, done for K.Swiss. Joshua Kissi is featured in this video and talks about his personal style and influences.

J. Period & Spike Lee :Michael Jackson - Man or Music (40 Acres Edition)

J.Period and Spike Lee pay tribute to the late great Michael Jackson. Mixing Michael’s classic hits with rare demo versions, remixes, and behind-the-scenes interview clips, J.Period weaves together an 80-minute musical documentary that pays tribute to The King of Pop’s staggering catalog of songs.


J.Period x Spike Lee x Michael Jackson - Man or the Music (40 Acres Edition)

190 Million For Your Own Private Greek Island.

Legendary Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani has reportedly become the proud owner of one of the world's most beautiful and expensive private islands – Skorpios (above). In closing the deal, said to be worth about $190 million according to reports in the European press, the designer faced stiff competition from rival bidders including Bill Gates, Roman Abramovich and Madonna. Located in the Ionian Sea off the western coast of Greece, the island formerly belonged to famed Greek shipping billionaire Aristotle Onassis and was the site of his wedding to Jackie Kennedy in 1968. It was sold to Armani by his granddaughter and heiress, Athina Onassis Roussel. There is a lavish villa on the island known as the Pink House which Onassis built for Jackie, along with tennis courts and plush gardens, though most of the island remains undeveloped and pristinely beautiful.

Levi Maestro x L.A. Jeweler Shayan Afshar: "Infinity Piece"

The word beautiful doesn't begin to describe this accessory. This is a collab between Levi Maestro and the Los Angeles Jeweler Shayan Afshar. I called this an accessory because the ability to tell the time seems to be...absent? It features 18k gold plated yellow and Rose gold versions with a mere 12 pieces available to the public. I got one by the way.

Kanye West feat Pusha T - Runaway 2010 (MTV Performance)

The best artists in the game does it again. As only he can, artistically and pushing the envelop. Gotta Love it.

Revenge.

A picture is work a thousand words. Curse words. For this upcoming game in Columbus, Ohio Canes' fans have been waiting since the '03 Fiesta Bowl. Canes' players from that game have been in the ears of the currant players all summer long. While Jacory Harris was only 12 when that game was played, he has gone on record for saying that, it'll be nice to get revenge but I'm focused on this team, now. As a Canes' fan myself, thats not what I want to hear. I want to hear that he has the backs of all the Canes' fans and players of that team. It's a family. We supposed to have each other's backs. But hey if Jacory goes in that ugly "pony shoe" and lights up that over rated D for 300 and 3 touchdowns, I'll forgive him. Oh yea, Chris Gamble has reportedly admitted that there was no penalty on that play.
While in Columbus, the Buckeyes take this as any other big game they've played for a regular season. They are not looking back at that '03 Fiesta Bowl game at all. "The past is the past," Terrelle Pryor has said to reporters. All we know is that this Saturday at 3:30 it's going to be must see TV. I just hope they got shutters on that "pony shoe."

Fidel Castro Says Cuban Model No Longer Works.

Here's a story i got from Reuters about Fidel Castro. Pretty interesting on his views now. Has he "grown-up' at the tender age of 84?

Reuters: Jeffrey Goldberg, a writer for the Atlantic Monthly magazine, wrote in a blog that he asked Castro, 84, if Cuba's model -- Soviet-style communism -- was still worth exporting to other countries and he replied, "The Cuban model doesn't even work for us anymore."

The comment appeared to reflect Castro's agreement, which he also expressed in a column for Cuban media in April, with his younger brother President Raul Castro, who has initiated modest reforms to stimulate Cuba's troubled economy.

Goldberg said Julia Sweig, a Cuba expert at the Council on Foreign Relations think tank in Washington who accompanied him to Havana, believed Castro's words reflected an acknowledgment that "the state has too big a role in the economic life of the country."

Such sentiment would help President Castro, who took over from his brother in 2008, against those members of the ruling Communist Party who oppose his attempts to loosen the state's hand, Sweig told Goldberg.

Goldberg wrote in a blog on Tuesday that Castro summoned him to Havana to discuss his recent article about the likelihood of conflict between Israel and Iran, with possible U.S. involvement, over Iran's growing nuclear capabilities.

He said Castro criticized Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for anti-Semitism and denying the Holocaust.

Castro, since emerging in July from four years of seclusion following intestinal surgery, has become an anti-nuclear weapon crusader expressing concern about the future of the world.

He fears that if the United States and Israel try to enforce international sanctions against Iran for its nuclear activities, nuclear war will break out.

Castro also criticized his own actions during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis when he urged the Soviet Union to launch nuclear weapons against the United States, telling Goldberg "it wasn't worth it at all."

During their visit, Goldberg and Sweig went with Castro, at his invitation, to see a dolphin show at Cuba's National Aquarium in Havana.

They were accompanied by local Jewish leader Adela Dworin, who Castro kissed in front of the cameras in a possible message to Iranian leaders, Goldberg said in his Wednesday blog.

Goldberg described Castro as physically frail, but energetic and mentally acute.

Best iPhone App. Ever. (kinda sorta)

The iPhone 4 has been greeted with mix emotions. Plenty of customers complained about the dropped calls and poor call quality when held a certain way. And then there are those who love the latest version of Apple's all-in-one phone. One thing nobody can contest is the lack of pixels you get with an iPhone. iPhone's meager 5 megapixled camera is lackluster compared to HTC's Evo with its 8 megapixed lens. Well Take this HTC. The best part about it, is that it just takes a few turns of the screws to attach too. Eat your heart out photographers.



I really hope this is just the beginning of the return of the greatest rap duo in history. OutKast.

Soccer For The Worlds Fastest Man.

Over the weekend the worlds fastest man stated in a London interview he would like to become a professional footballer when his track career is done.
"I always watch those guys and I think I could be a professional footballer. I'll try that -- maybe I could get into a good side or even an average side." Bolt told a London reporter.
He believes he has 4 good years left in his track and field career which he stated he wishes to bring his world record 100m bar down to a staggering 9.4 seconds.

Kanye West - Devil In A New Dress

Here is Kanye's newest single off his G.O.O.D. album.

Kanye West – Devil In A New Dress

No Break For Beas.

Not too long go, I posted something about how Michael Beasely is going to average 22 and 12 for the T'Wolves next year. I could be wrong. Unless he could do that on 25 minutes of work a night that is. Lets see why. One thing I'm taking away from this World Championship games in Turkey is this; Kevin Love is legit. After reviewing Kevin Love's stats for lst season, that sold me totally on him. He avg 14 points and 11 boards a game in only 28 minutes. That is making the most of his opportunities to say the least. He looks like hes ready to get increased minutes and in doing so increase his already fat stat line. He looks to be a lock at the four for years to come for the T'Wolves. Darko Milicic just signed a new four year 20 million dollar contract with the Wolves as well. A versatile forward who still has room to grow in his game. Milicic has gotten better every single year he has been in the L. Just happens to be a slow pace to take notice, but hes a good NBA player none the less.
So does Beasley play the 3 then? With Kurt Rambis the new head coach for the T'Wolves, someone who is known for being a defensive minded coach? We all know that offensively Beas can go toe-to-toe with any body in the L (except Kobe. DUH). Being in the west Bese is going to have to guard Caron Butler, Al Thorton, Ron Artest, Rudy Gay, Hedo Turkoglu, Nicoles Batum, Richard Jefferson, and oh yea Carmelo his he stays in Denver and Duranchala on a nightly basis. All will have season if not career highs against Beas less than shaky D. But the T'Wolves just drafted Wes Johnson, a prototypical NBA small forward. Not to mention Martell Webster and Corey Brewer also vying for playing time. So Beas will be rendered to a few more seasons of basically a reserve. Can't Bease get a break? He just needs to play out his rookie contract and go find somewhere where his talents can be put on full display. Which is basically limited to offense.

Battle For The Heisman.

Jacory V.S. Terrelle. On September 11th the rematch that the canes' fans have been waiting for since Ohio State robbed them of a title in 2002. There really isn't much to write about this game other then it's going go decide who goes to the national title game, and who the front runner for the Heisman will be.


Go Canes'.

The Best Keep Getting Better, And Better, And Better.....

It's September, which means it's new iPod time, and Apple didn't disappoint. The iPod shuffle, nano and touch all received serious redesigns today. Not shockingly, the iPod classic was left out of the mix, with some speculating that it could be the last hurrah for the device that truly kicked off the digital audio revolution.
The shuffle is heading back to its roots and bringing back buttons, likely a welcome change for most users who never got used to shouting at their player to skip a track. The new version regains the old control circle, bumps the battery life to 15 hours, and shaves $10 off the price. The new 2GB model will be available next week for $49 in a variety of colors.

The nano received the most drastic makeover. It's gone square, ditched the control wheel, and added a multitouch screen, making it look more like a shuffle with a screen. Prices are the same, $149 for 8GB and $179 for 16GB, as are many of the features you've come to know and love, including Nike+ integration, pedometer and FM radio. It's also added a shuffle-esque clip to the back, removing any need to wear an armband when exercising.

The iPod touch update was hardly surprising. Although it has retained the old-school iPhone and iPod touch rounded look, the insides have been updated to reflect the current state of Apple technology. True to its heritage, it's an iPhone without the phone, packing a new A4 processor, a gyroscope, an HD video-capable camera, a front-facing cam for Facetime, and, most importantly, a "retina" display. The new iPod touch will start shipping next week in 8GB, 32GB, and 64GB varieties with costs at $229, $299 and $399 respectively.

Kevin Durant. Only Time Will Tell.

Nobody stock has risen faster then Kevin Durant's has this summer. And he really hasn't done much. Yes he took to Thunder to the play-offs, and the Lakers to 7 games. Props for that. Mad props. But ever since the love affair with LeBron has ended with his decision, KD has been anointed the new NBA king? He has been given the keys to Team USA in this Worlds Championships, and now people are saying he is going to be the NBA's all-time leader in scoring?
Pump the Breaks people. He's a great ball player. Really Great. One of the best offensive players in the world. And yes he's only 22 after next month. He's a hard worker and a fierce competitor, ask Oklahoma State. But to say he is going to past Michael Jordan, Karl Malone, and Kareem Abul-Jabbar, is a far stretch. These players had other great players around them to help alleviate some pressure, and KD has Russell Westbrook, who isn't bad, but isn't a scorer per say. Watching KD's game, I do not see the ability to create off the dribble. His offensive game, which is pretty complete, relys too much on others facilitating him. He's a top 3 catch and shoot player in the L, his post game is extremely polished for a guard/forward, and he does not miss free throws. But the fact that he can not bring the ball up, make a move and go hampers his chances of putting up great numbers for years and years. Not to mention his frame looks as fragile as your moms favorite lamp. How long can his body put up with a NBA schedule? And a National team schedule too? All questions still to be answered. Now that the NBA has been put on notice after his performance last season, it'll be interesting to see how his game can change and adapt. We hear tons and tons about how hes a hard worker, and loves to play and learn. We are going to learn who KD is going to be for the next 7 years after this year. Can he learn, adjust, and take that next step? Just another tantalizing plot for the season that is 2011.