The Hell Am I Watching? (Spoiler Free)

We all have those "guilty pleasure" TV shows. Shows like Game of Thrones have developed a professional wrestling-like cult following. Sure, a lot of people enjoy it, but will they admit it? Of course, not! There's even been a rise in adults watching a My Little Pony cartoon. (I do not condone this, by the way, but that is a completely different subject.) At one time, television was consisted of family sitcoms, crime thrillers/mysteries, and the occasional comedic variety show or talk show. But as America and the rest of the world reach a point where having cable television is no longer completely justified, programs like Netflix and Amazon Instant Stream enter the spotlight. And I am loving every minute of it.

As soon as I got a job, the first thing I did was purchase a Netflix account. I rarely have enough time to watch shows as they are on television, so Netflix has turned into a staple of whatever free time I have. So, suggestions from many online forums and comments sections has led me to three shows. 2 of them are critically acclaimed and loved by people of all ages, while the third is looked at as a bit of an oddity among the cartoon-watching-adult community. The first two shows I am speaking of are Avatar: The Last Airbender and Breaking Bad. The third is a bit of a joke, an oddity in that it is a French-made anime, making it, well, simply put, not anime, called Code Lyoko.

I never got to fully enjoy Avatar as a kid, because as an impressionable preteen among other impressionable preteens, I was often teased for still enjoying children's shows. Luckily for me, my 8 year old nephew gave me a reason to watch this show, and I cannot thank him enough for giving me some kind of excuse for being into such a show. There are so many plot twists and so many little details put into this show. There are many fan-made timelines and stories from this show's universe that it is absolutely crazy. The show does an amazing job of creating a semi-realistic culture and civilization out of something that, in and of itself, has no business being described as "realistic." What I love most about this show, though, is that despite being a kids show, it takes itself seriously. Nothing is spoiled, and it is a show that one cannot truly enjoy without watching every episode in order.

Breaking Bad is another fantastic show, although I still have a difficult time taking Brian Cranston seriously. I keep expecting Hal from Malcolm in the Middle to show up a some point, but it never happens. Honestly, the best way I can describe the way this show messes with my head is by comparing it to Batman Begins/The Dark Knight/The Dark Knight Rises. Watching Cranston slowly go insane, and slowly become intrenched deep within the realm of the black market is hypnotic, and ever so addicting.

Code Lyoko is weird as hell. That is really the only thing I can say about it. It features a lot of deaths, a lot scientific mumbo-jumbo, most of which is actually well researched upon further inspection. Even better, in a show that features many demonic possessions and many deaths and plague, the name of it's creator is Christopher Benoit. This kind of stuff cannot be made up. I should say though, for anyone who plans on watching this show, you will feel differently about a lot of the content than I do. A friend of mine is also going through every episode, and his opinions are the direct opposite of mine at this point in time.

So, these are just a few recommendations I have for anyone who wants to enjoy their free time by watching television. As always, opinions differ from person to person, but I really feel as if all 3 of these shows are enjoyable. That being said, I at least gave parents two good ideas for bearable shows for their children to watch that are not the insufferable crap that is on Disney Channel or Nickelodeon.

Bear's QB Past, Bulls sign Nate Rob, and other shameful topics

For years, the Bears have been a bit of a laughing stock on offense. Rex Grossman. Josh McCown. Cade McNown, Drunken Jim Miller. Kordell Stewart. Kyle Orton, to a lesser extent. Caleb Hanie. I mean, damn, how hard was it for the Bears to pick up a decent quarterback along the way? The last Bears quarterback that does not make me ashamed to be a fan of the Bears (other than Jay Cutler) is Jim Harbaugh, and I am not going to say that he was a great quarterback in Chicago, because he was not. I mean, the Bears started former Ohio State Buckeye Craig Krenzel at quarterback for a few games! Even my Ohio State-homer friend admits that Krenzel was but a tattoo on Ohio State's great tradition of quarterbacks.

So yes, the Ghost of Quarterbacks Past basically says that the Bears are not allowed to have a competent quarterback. That is, until the fallout from the Josh McDaniels/Jay Cutler feud. All of a sudden, a semi-star was begging to be traded, to get a new beginning, and the Bears were coming off the heels of an over-achieving era of awful quarterbacks (Grossman and Orton) and amazing defense. Finally, it seemed, the Bears would have a quarterback that is not a well known alcoholic (Jim Miller), is not considered over the hill (Kordell Stewert, Josh McCown), is not an underachieving "potential-star" (Sexy Rexy), and more importantly, is not a relative unknown going into the season who is getting playing time because of multiple injuries (Kyle Orton, Caleb Hanie, Nathan Enderle, Craig Krenzel). What a painful paragraph this was.

Cutler is coming into his fourth season with the Bears, and it finally seems like Bears fans and fans around the league are accepting him, even if he is a douche-bag. He has been re-united with long-time quarterbacks coach Jeremy Bates, and Cutler's favorite option at wide-out in Brandon Marshall. For the first time since Jim McMahon, the Bears have a respectable aerial attack. The offensive line is still a large question mark, but when hasn't it been? The Bears' line has sucked ever since I was old enough to read the stats rolling across the bottom of my TV screen.

All of this being said, for the first time in my life, I am excited for football season. The Bears are looking fantastic, along with the rest of the league. The unpredictability that I love about the NBA and college basketball and football has somehow seeped into the NFL, and this season looks like it will shape up to be an amazing one, maybe the best of the last 20 years. Actually writing this has me more excited than I was before.

On to another topic, I heard the other day that the Bulls had signed former New York Knicks guard Nate Robinson. Now, I love Nate. I just do not want him on my team, at all. He has little-man syndrome. I can definitely see him pulling a Jamal Crawford this year. Although, he could be instant offense off the bench when they need him, so that is a plus.

The Cubs are losing constantly right now, as I expected. It is good to see Rizzo contribute the way he has, and I'm sure there will be improvements in both Brett Jackson and Josh Vitters. I am not saying that they are the future, but they will be important position players if the Cubs ever want to leave the cellar of the NL Central, and officially stop being, as Chicago legend and folk-singer Steve Goodman would put it, "The Doormat of the National League."

Mike's Long, Depressing Summer

From a life perspective, this has probably been the best summer of my life. I finally have a job, the Cubs are not as bad as I expected (still bad), I finally got around to getting Netflix (watching it as I speak), and I have not broken anything at my new job yet. From a sports standpoint?

Awful.

Pitiful.

Depressing.

Disappointing.

Catastrophic.

I could think of many other words to describe how this half year in sports feels to me, but none of them truly show how I really feel. The Cubs are cellar dwellers, and things do not exactly seem to be looking up, depending on what they can get for Dempster and Garza. The Sox are having their best year since 2005, making the local sports stations unbearable to listen to or watch, with all their nut-riding. The Bulls... I cannot talk about this without tearing up(Neither can Derrick's ACL). Fact of the matter is, Derrick Rose could be out for a very long time, and even when he gets back, it will not be the same. Korver is gone, Watson is gone, Asik is probably gone. The Bulls are going into next season with Captain Kirk penciled in as the starting point guard, random old guy #3959 at shooting guard, and who the hell knows if Deng will still be in Chicago by the time the season starts. The only sure things are Joakim and Boozer, and Scal. I know, Scal alone can win us a ring, but I am worried about getting him more help. Dwight Howard will not be the answer. I am not sure about him anymore, not with the drama that he has caused in Orlando.

Now, I would be all for the Bulls signing a few young free agents. I have always been a fan of Terrence Williams, despite him being, as most players on the Sacremento Kings were last year, a black hole on offense. But I really feel that Thibs could turn his career around, and turn an insanely athletic swingman into one of the better defenders into the league. Thibs seems to have that kind of effect on players. There goes my only real idea for the Bulls.

It is way too hot outside, and I have most of this week off, so by all means, anyone who is reading this, get at me and talk to me. I really need to be writing more often.

 

Mike's Postseason Roundup and Ramblings

I'm typing this as I watch Game 1 of the NBA Finals. It's the 4th quarter with 2 minutes left, and here are some of the things that have crossed my mind while watching.


-Watching the Heat right now is painful. I really do feel bad for them. They look old. Lebron looks old, Wade looks elderly, it's just crazy. They aren't that old. They look exactly how the Spurs should have looked. They better pick it up. As much as I hate the Heat, I am a fan of the game, and I want 7 games of good basketball.

-Durant looks amazing tonight. So does Westbrook. However, I do not appreciate hearing about how much better Westbrook is than Rondo. This just is not true. I have never watched Westbrook and thought about him as a once in a lifetime player. He is no such thing. He is yet another incarnation of the Allen Iverson/Steve Francis/Stephon Marbury/Baron Davis/Derrick Rose evolutionary line. I love watching Westbrook play, but Rondo brings things to the table that I cannot even begin to explain. 


-One thing I love about the Thunder is the thing I hate about the Bulls: free throws. The Thunder make their free throws! It is amazing to watch! Derrick Rose may be clutch, but when it comes to finishing from the line, he is worse than Lebron, and deserves the heckling that Lebron gets. The difference is in the way that Rose carries himself. Rose will work hard to fix his faults. The same thing cannot be stated about Lebron.


-15 points in the 4th for Durant? That's impressive. He really is in a great position to rule the next decade. I look forward to watching it. I'm hoping Nikola Mirotic is some sort of God-send. I don't see the Bulls ever getting passed the Thunder without some sort of divine intervention.


-In my opinion, the Spurs were the most dangerous team throughout the entire NBA during the playoffs, and the fact that the Thunder were able to take care of them shows me that they should be able to handle a some-what more divided and less balanced Heat team. That said, I am not underestimating the Heat. I know of the damage that Lebron and Wade can and will do throughout the series. I'm hoping for a classic 7 game series. That is not what game 1 seemed to foreshadow, but things can change. The score is still going to be 0-0 at the start of game 2. 


-How much can it take for Spo to get canned? They'd be better off with Vinny Del *gets shot*

TV Show Characters = NBA Players?

Recently, an article written by Grantland's "The Masked Man" (David Shoemaker) caught my attention. He was creating comparisons between NBA players and WWE Superstars (not wrestlers, damn it! [this is sarcasm]). The idea for the article was solid at best, but the execution was greatly flawed. No disrespect to him, I usually enjoy his writing, but this piece was not impressive in the least. However, it did give me a great idea. Instead of comparing the NBA and WWE, how about I do something a little bit bigger? How about comparing NBA players to some TV characters? The moment I came up with this topic, I immediately thought of several comparisons.

Lebron and Dwyane Wade = The 2 Gay Guys from Modern Family

Just kidding.

Lebron = Spongebob Squarepants

No. Really. He is. Stop laughing! Think about it. When Spongebob first showed up, he was loved by many and hated by few. After many seasons, Spongebob is rarely funny, and the children that once loved him have grown up, and now despise him in the newer episodes. Doesn't that sound like Lebron? Everyone loved him when he first came into the league. Then progressively as his career went on, he started to garner a lot of hate. If that does not sound like Spongebob, I do not have a clue as to what does.

Kobe = Will Smith in Fresh Prince

Kobe reminds me of watching the Fresh Prince re-runs every morning as I get ready for school; he has been doing it for so long, its like watching re-runs. And I love it every time. When all is said and done, Kobe will not be considered the greatest of all time; there is no surpassing MJ; but he will be considered the greatest Laker of all time, and he will be a top 2 player. He refuses to slow down, just like Fresh Prince is still funny to me, 16 years after it got canceled. Even more of a coincidence? Kobe entered the league at the same time Fresh Prince got canceled. I am a genius.

Dwyane Wade = Jerry Seinfeld

Wade has not been as great as he normally is this season, but people keep waiting and watching for him to return to that mode he always gets in. This is similar to Seinfeld. Did anyone watch Seinfeld because it was funny? Probably not. They watched it because everyone knew Jerry Seinfeld had the potential to be funny, just like people watch Wade because he has the potential to methodically destroy any team.

Derrick Rose = Aang

For those of you who don't remember Avatar: The Last Airbender, it was a show that started coming on around the time I entered junior high, got postponed because Nickelodeon thought it might be too violent for children, then came back on 2 years later on a satellite only channel that I do not get. So, it did take me awhile to finish the series, but the similarities between Derrick Rose and Aang, especially this postseason, are uncanny. What makes me think of these two as similar? At the beginning of the show, Aang shows up unexpectedly, the savior of a war-torn world. Who expected the Bulls to get Derrick Rose? Aang meets up with Katara (Joakim Noah) and Sokka (Luol Deng). This sounded better in my head. Hell, you can even make the argument that the Heat are similar to the Fire Nation, with Lebron being Azula and Wade being Ozai. I miss this show. Luckily, there's a new season of it! Your welcome, Nickolodeon, I just informed my readers (all 2 of them) about your new show. That's free advertising. Consider us even.

San Antonio Spurs = The Big Bang Theory

Only the educated will enjoy watching them.

Stephen A. Smith = Eric Cartman

Seriously, nobody likes you. Go away. You make Skip Bayless' arguments make sense. Screaming does not make your point.

Watching Erik Spoelstra Coach is Unbearable

How does a man like Erik Spoelstra get a job? Has a team ever won with a doormat of a coach? Honestly, there were, and still are, better options for a coach. But who cares about that? They have the ever-wonderful superstars Lebron James and Dwyane Wade! That should be enough to conquer the lowly Pacers, right? Wrong.

The case has been the same for the Heat all season: when Lebron can take over, they are unstoppable. This comes to no surprise. He is, after all, the best player in the world currently. When do the Heat lose? Its when an up and coming coach like Frank Vogel outcoaches Erik Spoelstra. This should surprise no one. I knew Spoelstra was a bad choice to begin with. He was a video coordinator. That's the same job I did for a high school team my junior year. That means absolutely nothing to me, that he did the same for an NBA team. (I guarantee you, his commentary was not nearly as entertaining. My topics ranged anywhere from actually talking about the game (when they were playing a close game) to Pokemon (when they were getting blown out) to other things that are unrelated to basketball)

The reason I feel so strongly about Spoelstra is the fact that he is just an awful coach. If he was coaching my kid's high school team I would be worried. He obviously cannot handle egos, and that is what high school coaching is: handling egos. This man is coaching a professional basketball team that features two players who are as arrogant as any high school student. I personally know adult coaches that could do a better job of handling people like Lebron and Wade. As an aspiring coach (and journalist), watching Spoelstra is painful. If these are the guys that are getting the big jobs, where does that leave me? Hell, where does that leave the potentially great coaches that actually have gone to school in order to coach high school ball (and P.E.)? I know dozens of coaches throughout this area just from watching my high school team from the bench. There are a few of them that leave my head scratching. Teams with all the athletic ability and skill in the world, just not a good enough coach to win. And then I see coach Spo.

He looks frightened; like a car salesman who finds out he needs to sell a Ferrari to someone who thinks the dealership will take his Link card to keep his job. Coaching frightened is something that will never work. Phil Jackson is known as the Zen Master; he does not get rattled, he does not get frightened. He does the job he needs to do. Spo just doesn't! Besides, any NBA coach that believes the "zone offense" is actually a zone offense needs to be replaced immediately. Pat Riley needs to find a new coach immediately; the Heat will not succeed with Spo. There is also a good possibility that they cannot succeed with Dwyane Wade, but that is a story for another time.

PS: I should not have linked to Bl00dblitz, my night is now gone.

Song of the Day: Dropkick Murphys- Never Alone

Lebron Hate Is Too Extreme

I get it, I'm not suppose to like Lebron. I'm a Bulls fan, he plays for the Heat. That's cool. But honestly, why hate him? Because The Decision was possibly my generation's Kennedy Assassination? Because he left a team that has a well-documented history of having a terrible owner and a terrible GM? A team that had one of the worst coaches in the league? (Sorry, Lakers fans, I really feel for you there. Shaw's looking really good right now, ain't he?) Lebron may have not made the right decision in going to Miami. Dwyane Wade looks more broken down every time I see him. Chris Bosh is streaky, and can be fantastic at times, but his play can be absolutely deplorable at times. What else does the Heat have? James Jones? Mike Miller? Mario Chalmers has improved, but he definitely should not be their answer to play point guard. Spoelstra might be a worse coach than Mike Brown! But despite all of these things, Lebron turns this team into a legitimate title threat. Without him, they aren’t nearly as dangerous. They just aren’t.

It even seems like Lebron is beginning to understand all of this. Recently, he talked about a possible return to Cleveland. I know, it doesn’t mean much, but he talked about it, and that’s what matters. Besides, listen to the way he talks about players around the league. You can question his heart, you can question his confidence, but you cannot question that this guy tries his hardest to think the best of the other guys around the league. Ever hear him talk about Derrick Rose? He sounds like he’s the little brother trying to get acknowledged. And he doesn’t just do that with D-Rose. I’ve heard him do it with Kobe, Kevin Durant, Steve Nash (who knows? Maybe the Heat’s point guard next year. By the way, if he is, I want them to win. Steve deserves a ring.), and several other players around the league. He wants to be accepted. He wants to be loved. And it just isn’t happening.

Everywhere I read online is full of people bashing Lebron, saying how he quits, saying he’s a jackass, saying he’s this, saying he’s that. I don’t think he’s a quitter. In fact, the numbers show he isn’t. Sure, I have come up with a LOT of 4^th quarter jokes, but it’s all in good fun, I have no extreme amount of hate for him. I do find his “celebration” party at the beginning of his first Heat season ridiculous and unforgiveable, but you have to remember: Lebron has the mentality of a child. He wants to be accepted, he wants to be like everyone else. His mind isn’t built like MJ’s, Larry’s, Magic’s, or even Clyde Drexler’s. The only player I can think of that had a similar mentality was Chris Webber. Lebron is never going to develop a killer instinct because he won’t need one. Dwyane Wade has it, he’s the guy who will take the last shot. People can get upset all they want that Lebron doesn’t want the last shot, but he doesn’t need to take it, so why should he? Maybe once Dwyane Wade retires, Lebron will understand. Honestly, the way Lebron gets run ragged throughout the season, I’m more worried about him turning into an extremely rich man’s Grant Hill. Please hope I’m wrong. I hate the Heat, but I don’t want to be robbed of the chance to see a once in a lifetime player. Hate the Heat, don’t hate Lebron.

Boston Celtics All Time Team Series

Boston Celtics

PG Dennis Johnson
SG Sam Jones
SF Larry Bird
PF Kevin McHale
C Bill Russell

6th John Havlicek
7th Bob Cousy
8th Robert Parish
9th Paul Pierce
10th Rajon Rondo
11th Tommy Heinsohn
12th Antoine Walker

Dennis Johnson

There’s a very big reason that I have 3 players in the starting lineup from the 86 Celtics: they were arguably the greatest team of all time. Why change anything? DJ was a great defender, a serviceable scorer, and a pretty good passer. He gets the nod over Cousy and Rondo solely because of the chemistry he would already have with Larry Bird and Kevin McHale.

Sam Jones

Sam Jones is one of those guys that I know very little about, but I know enough about him to know that he’s an all time great. He was a great scorer for his time and a good fit with Bill Russell.

Larry Bird

If I were to make this list and leave Larry off of it, I would be a laughing stock. And I would deserve to be. He’s a top 5 player all time, and the greatest player in Celtics history, unless you want to make the Bill Russell argument. Great scorer, great passer, he’s a man who truly revolutionized the game.

Kevin McHale

This man had some of the best footwork and best post moves of any player ever, along with being a good defender. He’s a perfect compliment to Larry, and I could see him and Bill Russell being an awesome duo to watch together.


Bill Russell

One of the greatest of all time. He won 8 (eight!!!!) rings as a player, and he’s known as one of the greatest rebounders ever. He was an elite defender, and his showdowns with Wilt Chamberlain are legendary. Bill was truly an amazing player for his time.

Bench:

PG: Rondo and Cousy are too very good backups. I really wanted to start Cousy, but I could not justify it. He played in a broken era, and wasn’t what I would consider dominant. Rondo didn’t get the nod mostly because there are rumors of him being a headcase. With his play as of late though, he could easily change my mind and make me look dumber than I already look.

SG/SF: Paul Pierce and Hondo will have to man these two slots, as I could not find anyone I could deem deserving of these two spots. Both players are great scorers. Antoine Walker is there only for a spark. In his prime, he was a player that would definitely help this team a lot.

PF/C: This team is DEEP at these 2 positions. Russell, Parish, Heinsohn, and Walker? 3 of those are Hall of Famers, and one of them is a coke dealer! Sounds like the winning formula in my book.

All Time TEAM Series

The Chicago Bulls

PG Derrick Rose
SG Michael Jordan
SF Scottie Pippen
PF Horace Grant
C Artis Gilmore

6th F Bob Love
7th F Toni Kukoc
8th SG Reggie Theus
9th SF Luol Deng
10th PG Kirk Hinrich
11th C Joakim Noah
12th C Tom Boerwinkle

Summary:

You would think the Bulls would be an easy all time team to do. They have to of the greatest players of all time in MJ and Scottie, then they have one of the biggest stars of today in Derrick Rose. Horace Grant made the starting lineup because with him in there, nobody scores on this starting lineup. The only defender there worse than “elite” is Derrick Rose, and he is definitely a serviceable defender in his own right. The bench is where things get a little sketchy. The forward position is strikingly strong until you realize that of the 3 forwards on the bench, one of them was a shoot-first-defend-later Bob Love, whose PER never peaked 17, while the others are the notoriously soft Toni Kukoc and the always-defending and always-streaky Luol Deng. That said, beyond that, the only major hole is at backup point guard, but that happens when a team has had all of one elite point guard throughout their long and illustrious history.

Player-by-Player Analysis:

Derrick Rose

This is a player that I have been watching since he was in college. I’d be lying if I said I knew he’d be a Bull from his days in Memphis. The Bulls were a fringe playoff team without a hope of getting a top pick in the lottery, until the unthinkable happened: they actually won the lottery with a 2.7% chance to get the number one pick. At the time, the decision between D-Rose and Michael Beasley seemed like a tough one, but now, it seems that Derrick was the obvious choice. Beasley has turned into a burnout who is the bud of many “getting high” jokes around plenty of NBA fans, and Derrick Rose is now an MVP. Rose’s career has taken off fast. He won his first MVP at age 22, becoming the youngest MVP in NBA history. He has never seen his PER dip below the average of 15, and has improved his scoring drastically with each season, unless the current season is counted. This year, he has been injured very often, although he should be returning soon.

Michael Jordan

What else is there to be said? The man is the greatest of all time. He led the league in scoring an astounding 11 times, he won the MVP award 5 times in the regular season, and won the Finals MVP award for each of his 6 rings. He is regarded as one of the best perimeter defenders of all time, and was able to put up a career points-per-game average of 30.1. I don’t need to argue for Jordan, but I know somebody who has never seen him play will argue his vulnerabilities with me.

Scottie Pippen

Any list that has MJ on it has to have Scottie Pippen on it. Scottie IS the best defender of all time, and he was a great offensive player too. Those two years Jordan took off to play baseball? Yeah, Scottie carried those teams. Scottie was legit.

Horace Grant

It was debatable as to which team Horace should have been placed on, but he fits in perfectly with the style that this Bulls team would play on defense, and he’s not so inept on the offensive side that he’d be useless like Joakim Noah can be at times.

Artis Gilmore

I can honestly say I do not know much about him, I was unable to watch him play due to him playing in the 70’s. But what I do know about him is that he could score well, as he averaged 18 ppg throughout his career, and 24 ppg a few times. He also averaged 12 rebounds per game throughout his career. That is quite an impressive number. He was also a prolific shot blocker, averaging 5 blocks per game during his rookie season in the ABA. 5 blocks per game! I find that extremely impressive at any level.

Commentary on the bench will be provided on a later date.

Apologizing For Our Disappearance- Mike

So, its safe to say that it has been awhile since Joe or myself have posted anything of note on this blog. To any of our loyal readers, I would like to apologize. I have been under the weather quite a lot recently, and with allergy season in full effect, I will probably be under the weather a lot throughout the spring and summer. Joe has been busy with work, so he hardly has time to post anything anyways. But I would like to announce that the two of us are working on a huge project. We are working on creating All-Time teams for each NBA franchise. This will be unlike any you have ever seen. Instead of focusing on who the best players were, we are going to focus on the players that would create the best team. For example, because the Lakers would already have Kareem and Wilt, Shaq would get relegated to the Orlando Magic. I hope this example is understandable. I truly believe that this series will be one worth reading, so stay tuned.

Ugh. Rigged dunk contests. -Mike

This year's dunk contest may have been the WORST one I remember. The dunks were cool, sure. I loved Jeremy Evans' 2 ball dunk, and seeing Paul George jump over Roy Hibbert and Dahntay Jones was cool, but really? This just seemed like the NBA trying to reach into Vince McMahon's pockets. How fake did this seem? And why is it faked? What is the point of it? Do they really think more people will watch because of a planned dunk? Look at the greatest wrestling matches in history if you want to see how that works out. The obviously faked "spots" in wrestling are the ones that get pointed out, and these are the things that water down a match.

Take a look at Mick Foley's fall during his Hell in a Cell match with Undertaker. Was he supposed to fall? Probably not, at least he says he wasn't. But was the fall necessary? Of course it was! America loves accidents! America loves surprises! Watching Mick Foley fall to what everyone figured was a storyline death brought thousands of more fans in. So what would be wrong with letting these professionals, who play an actual sport, go out and do something that will amaze the fans, and possibly draw more fans in? Why not give players an actual reason to join the dunk contest? Why not give a cash prize? Or here's something even crazier: how about making it a tournament? Here's an idea for the format.

Since the NBA seems obsessed with fan voting, how about the fans choose 8 participants, who have been given a choice on whether or not to be included on the ballot. We know from the offseason how whiny the players (and owners) can get.The 8 players that get voted in are put into seeds, much like the playoffs. The 1 seed faces the 8 seed and so on. The dunks should be based on originality, not on this intensity meter bullshit. Players can use any props needed. The tournament format forces players to pull out all the stops on every attempt. You never know what your opponent might pull off.

One more idea: why not give amateurs a shot? You want to tell me that James "Flight" White wouldn't have won this dunk contest? Why not hold a contest for amateurs? Sprite is already doing something similar. They have a campaign where you send in a video to them of you doing a trickshot or whatever, and they do something with it. I wasn't really paying attention, but I got the gist of it. So a sponsor of the NBA hit what could be a gold-mine for them. I highly doubt the NBA will take advantage of this. But damn it, I wish they would.

Joe and Mike talk Lebron and AI

Joe: No doubt that LeBron is one of the most entertaining players in the NBA. If LeBron retired today his career would have to be considered a disappointment even though he is a 2 time MVP, right?

Mike: Considering his unearned ego, the pussy ass move of leaving a city that would do anything for him to go play with 2 other superstars, and his near refusal to work on his game in the offseason, I would say that his career is about as meaningful as Allen Iverson's.

Joe: Good comparison, but what is funny about that is while it is disappointing for LeBron, I would never say that AI's career was disappointing. You would have to say that his career was much better than expected, right?

Mike: Exactly. But AI will be a hall of famer, no doubt. LeBron will be too, but the difference is that AI cared too much to the point of nearly crippling himself, and LeBron just cares too little. Give LeBron AI's mentality and drive and I have no doubt in my mind that he would be the greatest of all time.

Joe: I wouldn't say that LeBron doesn't care enough. He could care more, or sometimes he cares about the wrong thing, but its not like he doesn't care at all. Iverson had that killer instinct like Jordan and Kobe, and we haven't seen that from LeBron and it looks like we never will.

Mike: LeBron only cares about the things that do not matter. Money, contracts, big markets. Like Playboy X in Grand Theft Auto IV. He doesn't give a rats ass until there's a media backlash. AI is basically Dwayne. A hard worker who got a bad rap for a lot of stupid crap he did in the past.

PS: I think Derrick Rose gets to be Niko.

Mike is bored as hell

My game has been canceled tonight, and the Bulls game will not be televised in my area, which I find odd. I live in the Chicago area. Either way, I have decided to write an article that has absolutely nothing to do with basketball tonight, because honestly, I am getting pretty sick of everything I do involving basketball. So I will focus on a new medium tonight: video games. My top 10 favorite video games of all time, in fact. So, in an attempt to enjoy the pre-SOPA/PIPA internet, I will review and discuss several games that I consider to be among the best of all time. (My opinion may piss you off, and I have not played a lot of games that are considered great. So this is really a list of "Greatest games of all time that I have actually played.")

10. Pokemon (Series)

An 18 year old kid (man in some places, although I can admit I am not very mature) should not be writing about Pokemon. But as someone who grew up with the game, how can I not include this game on my list? I'm not exactly a fan of RPG's, in fact, I have spent a large amount of my life hating on them. I mean, Final Fantasy and many other games that are loved by millions on the internet are, in my opinion, are some of the most overrated and boring games I have ever attempted to play. So what makes Pokemon different? Maybe I was young when I started playing. But maybe, just maybe, there was finally an RPG made that got me hooked. My favorite game of the series would have to be the 2nd generation, Gold/Silver/Crystal. I was able to get my hands on a copy of Crystal the day it came out, and every once in awhile, when I have to spend a large amount of time on the toilet, I put it in the ol' Gameboy Color and pass the time away.

What made Crystal so great was the very large map, the numerous choices in Pokemon that a person had, and the (at the time) gripping storyline. It was marketed towards 8 year olds. And I was an 8 year old. Mission accomplished, Nintendo. Also, to be completely honest, Heracross is still the most badass-yet-weird-looking game character ever.

9. Guitar Hero/Rock Band (Series)

Yeah, as you can already tell from my first two games, I am a nerd. And of course, you have 2 questions. Yes, I can play on expert, easily. And no, I have never learned how to play a real guitar. But when I was younger, around junior high age, I was invited to a kid's birthday party. That's where I first played Guitar Hero 2, and after that, I begged my parents for it for Christmas. Suffice to say, this was a great Christmas present. I have gotten many uses out of the game, and it has also introduced me to 2 of the worst-yet-amazing songs I have ever heard.

8. Call of Duty: Black Ops/Modern Warfare

Same game, essentially. I normally hate Call of Duty, but 4 (Modern Warfare) was great, and Black Ops was 4 with zombies. Sounds like a winning formula to me.

7. Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars

Nostalgia is blinding me. I first played this game when I was 4 and too young to realize what was going on. I went back and beat it over the summer and realized a lot of the racist and sexual undertones in this game. Go ahead and play it, you will wonder what the hell you are doing. At one point, one of the bad guys refers to "only wanting the Princess's cake," followed by *stunned silence* and him saying "Wait, that came out wrong." It did have one of the greatest games songs ever.

I get a lot of strange looks walking around school while whistling this.

6. WWF No Mercy

I was a wrestling fan for awhile. This was probably the only wrestling game that I liked. Sadly, I didn't get much time to play it, but I can tell from my short time with it that it is head and shoulders above any other game on this list.

More on the way later, this is a 2 part series.

All I Can Say is WOW! -Mike

Derrick Rose has pulled yet another win out of his ass. I have never in my lifetime see a player who does so much for his team. I know a lot of people were upset at Stacey King's "most dominant player in the game" comment, but honestly, try and make an argument for anyone else so far this season. You will not be able to. The fact of the matter is, when things have mattered the most to his team, Derrick Rose has come through consistently, and although it is early in the season, I would love to believe that he can do this on a regular basis. The emergence of Luol Deng as his second option and Carlos Boozer getting resurrected from the dead sure helps a lot, but Rose deserves a lot of credit. I am going out on a limb right now and just outright saying it: Derrick Rose is the best point guard in the league right now.

There's that dirty word: point guard. Ever since he came into the league, purists have been arguing on what position he really plays. He was a scorer, a prolific scorer even, but he never seemed to be able to set his teammates up well enough. Until now. I have never seen a player so intent on creating shots and setting up his teammates in late game situations. Last year, the Bulls late game offense consisted of "get out of Derrick's way." Now, it consists of much more than that. Late in the game tonight, I watched an inbound pass go right by Rose and into the hands of Joakim Noah, who then made a beautiful pass to a cutting Luol Deng. I can only imagine what I would have had to say about that last year. But after watching the Bulls this year, I think the Bulls can trust their supporting cast more now. Derrick seems to have a way of keeping everyone motivated and working hard. Maybe Thibs deserves more credit for this, but it is hard to say that Rose has not been a leader on the court this year, because he sure looks like one.

This is where I get really out of my mind. Watching Derrick Rose this season has reminded me of two players, a hall of famer and a future hall of famer, barring any scandal. (This is very possible with this man.) The two legends I see him fitting the description of? None other than Isaiah Thomas and Allen Iverson.

Damn. Watch that passing ability. Watch him create shots. Watch him support his team. Watch everything he does. If the league isn't so intent on keeping its fans and players safe, the Bulls basically are the Bad Boy Pistons reincarnated. I mean, everyone already hates Joakim as much as they hated Lambeer, why not embrace it? Explain to me how the Bulls aren't like that Pistons team. They play hard-nosed defense, and a few players (Joakim and Boozer) are great at getting underneath other guy's skins when the game matters. Rose just needs to sit back and be himself, and let the rest of the team do what they need to do.

Wait... look at this though. 30 points in games. Consistently. While not exactly being the biggest player, and often being guarded by guys who are much bigger. Who am I describing? 11 years ago, there wasn't a basketball fan that wouldn't give you the answer "Allen Iverson" to those questions. Now? There isn't a fan who would argue that that is anyone other than Derrick Rose. Rose may not average 30 a game like AI did, but he doesn't have to. He's not putting up with Eric Snow as his 3rd best player. Unlike AI's 76er's, Rose has a team around him, and a team that seems to be more of a family than a team. Look at the way all these men defended Boozer constantly last year. They knew something the fans didn't. And thank GOD they didn't listen to fans like me and get rid of Boozer, because he looks really damn good this year.

This Bulls team has me so excited, and I just can't hide it. I cannot wait for the rest of the season. Goodbye, any sleep I'll get tonight.