Loose Balls Vol. 1.3

Ever have one of these absolutely ridiculous days at work? Well today is one of those days. And as long as my co-workers think I'm as productive as this guy, then I'm all set. But instead of actually doing any work, I've been cruising online for, uh, useful and productive alternatives to work. Of course, having not really found any I can do while sitting in my cube, I've simply been tossing paper all day long. No need to thank me, I'm just a guy, doing his job, making sure you're not.

Kingdom Comes, Goes Nowhere

As an avid fan of Jigga Man, I must say I'm a little embarrassed that I just picked up a copy of his latest CD. Ok, I admit, I got a copy burnt from someone else who made a donation to Jay-Z's grandkids, but that's besides the point. Seeing as I had actually purchased every other album within a week of it's release date, my behavior struck even myself as odd. After waiting two years for an encore to the Black Album, I had been anticipating this since the CEO announced his retirement. That's right, I thought the Black Album was one of Jay's better works.

For those of you that don't know, I hold the Black Album on the same level as Reasonable Doubt and just a notch above The Blueprint. I realize my views aren't widely accepted, and it's true that the Black Album was a commercial disappointment when compared to the other two, but it's just as good an album. You've got to go with me on this. From front to back, the Black Album was the best, most consistent album, including beats and lyrics, that Jay-Z had put out. He did a little bit of everything and nothing exactly the same. But this isn't about the Black Album. Naturally, I was ecstatic to hear another was in the works. A Jay-Z comeback was just as inevitable as MJ giving it a go with the Wizards. Unfortunately, as the release date grew nearer, I became more and more apprehensive. Maybe it was because the only single I heard that had been released, Show Me What You Got, absolutely blows. Not a good sign of things to come. Don't even get me started about the video. Backed by NASCAR drivers, really Jay?? So right off the bat I absolutely hated the first single and suddenly I pretended like the album wasn't even going to drop. Finally, however, I gave in earlier in the week and asked a co-worker to burn me a copy.

After the first listen, I was underwhelmed and more than a bit dissapointed. Realizing that it takes me 3 full hearings before being able to get a grasp on any given piece of music, I gave it another shot. Same results. Snoop is the master at the laidback, too stoned to move beats and has the voice to rap over it. Jay-Z, not so much. Despite what he claims 'Young H.O." couldn't put it together in this one. No matter who is producing a given track, it sounds eerily like the previous one, and similar to the beats that follow. To top it all off, he raps about absolutely nothing. Well not nothing, but the exact same shit he rapped about the past in the Gift and the Curse. Now I'd expect that from Chingy or Bow Wow et al. but not the self-proclaimed savior of hip-hop. The bar was simply set to high by the Black Album. He went out with a bang, his best lyrics, best live performances, there was no where else to go but down.

It seems that there is one positive from this whole album, you know besides Jay-Z getting richer. The one and only redeeming track, Minority Report, actually talks about Katrina and how little was really done. You can tell this was a track he actually gave a shit about. Now one track doesn't make up for the rest of the album, but at least there is one positive out of all of this. Of course, it's unlikely that the particular song will ever see play on the airwaves, so all anyone will hear are the played out beats and droning on about how rich, famous, etc Young Hova still is. One bad album won't ruin his illustrious career, but this latest entry hasn't advanced it beyond where it was pre-retirement. Like MJ coming back for the Wiz, maybe he should have just stayed away.

CRFC Sign Ups

With the playoffs winding down, especially for myself and this week being Championship Week, it's that time of the year again. Time to sign up for next season! I swear the Commish doesn't pay by commission, in fact, he doesn't pay if he doesn't want to. But sign up for the Leagues anyway, they're a great run and you'll be surprised at how much beer you'll drink while at a gym.


Sex Panthers Scent Wears Thin [CRFC Basketball]
SIGN UP NOW! [CRFC Basketball]
He's one Bad Motha...[ The Confessional]

Fallout from MSG

If you haven't seen the video of the Knicks-Nuggets fight then you're just not paying attention. I think the reactions of this are a bit overblown. The NHL allows players to duke it out, it's "part of the game". For Major League Baseball, fans love it when players go at it. And even in the NFL, where there aren't many post whistle altercations, players spend the afternoon running and slamming their bodies into each other as fast and hard as they can. In the NBA, you're going to get the occasionally overheated confrontation and it may turn ugly. Of course, any time Isiah is involved, all bets are off and even his own city is roasting him for this one. Obviously, when the suspensions get handed out today, Melo, the NBA's leading scorer will be facing plenty of time on the bench, not returning until sometime in January. So will Nate Robinson and everyone else that was tossed, but the media outcry seems a bit extreme. I know the NBA isn't supposed to condone fighting, but if they can shrug off bench clearing brawls and bloody, toothless smiles, why is it necessary to make such a big deal about a few weakly thrown right hooks?

Here we go again [YouTube]
Picking a fight [Slam Sports]
Little Man picks a fight [New York Daily News]

Loose Balls Vol. 1.2

Ok, so I realize it's been a couple days since the last post, and really I have no excuses. I do, and it's called alcohol. Although not recently, in the past it has led to nights such as these. Yea, I know, drinking isn't always the smartest thing for me to be doing, especially on a weekday, but it's almost the holidays!!

At CRFC, it's offically the playoff season! I love upsets, and nothing spells upset like a #1 seed losing. And always, the Wolverine Trap continues to entertain and only speak the truth.

To come this weekend, after recovering from Jrod's Holiday Party:

State of the Patriots
Jay-Z, Kingdom Crumbles?
Adventures in Cubeland

Who gets thrown in a trunk?? [YouTube]
The Sergeon General should adapt these [Dave's Daily]
This better hold through until March [WUnderground]
Undefeated no more [CRFC Basketball]
12 Days of CRFC [Wolverine Trap]

Loose Balls Vol. 1.1

Hectic weekend with a whole lot going on. I know Troy Smith was favored to win the Heisman and all, being a very good QB on the best team in all the land, but the second widest margin of victory ever? Ludacris. McFadden was the most important player to his team in the entire country. His consolation? He's the front runner in '07 and as long as he doesn't get hurt, has it wrapped up based on the media's obsession with adhering to any and all preseason predictions.

If only this guaranteed a productive pro career [Washington Post]

So apparently wins and losses don't really matter to Danny Ainge [ESPN]

Words don't begin to describe how disturbing this is [YouTube]

As long as Jeb doesn't start looking to him for policy, we world will be a better place [Metro]

If K-Fed can bag a celebrity, mooch for 2 years, and walk away without any child rearing responsibilities, there is hope for us all [TMZ.com]

Questions abound after Loss, Will C's find the Answer??

While waiting for the T at North Station I was planning on ranting and raving about the latest C's letdown on Friday night, and I still may later, but when I returned from the game, the Worldwide Leader was flashing this headline [ESPN]. Hallelujah!! It's time for the rumor mill to kick into high gear once again about A.I. coming to Beantown. Personally I am all for this move. Consider the following.

1) Boston would become relevant again - The national media, for good reason, ignores the Celtics at all costs. Who can blame them. They're sitting with a share of the worst record in the league, they traded away their headcase last season (Davis) and most of them are too young to be household names. The Knicks are at least dysfunctional enough to make everyone want to stop and stare at the train wreck. Iverson changes all of that. He'll bring the off-court baggage, everyone knows him, and after a time, I wouldn't be surprised to see him make a push to get Doc fired. A guy can dream can't he??

2) The Celtics would at least be entertaining - Despite Friday's near miss, the Garden was practically dead. Orange seats stained every row and section while those who made up the crowd weren't into the game until the last minute (by they had already blown their lead). The biggest reactions from the crowd were saved for the Dance Team (deservedly) and anytime Scalebrine was near the ball (again, deservedly). A.I. brings flash, excitement and a sense of urgency. He's another vet, he wants to win now.

3) It's feasible - You're telling me that the Sixers wouldn't take Jefferson, Rondo, West, and a first rounder for A.I. and Dalembert? No matter the salary cap parameters, the C's have the assets to get it done. Come on Danny. A.I. has asked for the trade and Philly has sent him home as they look for suitors. Now is the time to strike. If he agonizes over this until it's too late and another team has swooped in with an offer, the whole city may very well riot. Ainge can get this done. This is Billy King we're dealing with here!

For all the possible negatives Iverson brings to the table, he's one of the toughest guys in the entire league. There is a reason Boston is in last place. They have more holes (and "tremendous upside potential") than any other team in the L. Boston needs someone to take the pressure off Pierce to perform for 40 minutes a night. A.I. is still a great scorer. With Pierce on the bench for the first half (!?!?!) of the fourth quarter on Friday, the Celtics had no go-to guy to keep the offense chugging. The C's lack veteran leadership at the point. A.I. has been doing this for 11 years, and he's still going strong. Their perimeter defense is incredibly weak. The list goes on and on. For all the problems and question marks that the C's have, A.I. just might be the Answer to enough of them to make the deal worth it.

Loose Balls Vol. 1

We'll see how long this last, but every other morning I'm going to try and provide a few links that I found interesting while killing time in CubeLand. The loose set of links, aka Loose Balls, are where I've been and what I've been doing. Obviously, CRFC is going to be heavily promoted whenever possible. But I have other interests, really I do. Ok, so not many, but what more do you want from me??

I'm so jacked up for this, it's going to be terribly awesome [YouTube]

For all those CRFC enthusiasts out there. A2 and B1 East updates for Round 1 of the playoffs are available [CRFC Basketball]

Sadly, I wouldn't be terribly surprised if next year this were true [The Onion]

Yea it's old but Colbert is hilarious and I missed this episode [Colbert Report]

Who didn't see this coming?? [Tech2]

Why These Cs Aren't Even Average

Fresh off a couple recent posts I'm running on an all time high, in productivity, so I thought I'd spit out an update tonight. Nothing seriously mind bending, just an update on the 'professional' basketball team in the city. Although everyone in the city, even NBA fans, pretends the team doesn't exist, I've been informed that they do still in fact occasionally play games at the Fleet Center, sorry Garden. The big news in the off season had nothing to do with the team actually improving of course, No, the Celtics' dancers were the hot button topic in the papers, over the airwaves, and on the web. They've caused a lot of debate and intrigue in the city of Boston, but unfortunately for you, this blog isn't about them. I just wanted an excuse to run the picture. In fact, this is the last time we'll mention them, so take a nice long look now. Instead, it's the state of affairs within the sorry ass team they are paid to dance for that will be under fire.


Friday night the Celtics play the Suns in Boston, and I'll be at the Garden for the first time this season. After attending a number of games last season, their problems [courtesy Deadspin] were fairly obvious; too many young guys, no reliable second scorer, and big men who only excelled in one area of the game (either offense or defense, but never both). But the major issue, at least from my vantage point, was the lack of a consistent rotation. It was never out of the question to see 13 guys play on one given night. In no way is that concussive to well-played, efficient offense. Heading into this season, the logical move seemed to be to trade for a vet, any vet, that would replace the potential [Globe] of a couple of the young guys for actual production. In the weak East, a record close to .500 would have again won the Atlantic. Instead, the Cs are currently 5-12, half a game out for the worst record in the league, and not getting better any time soon. But as has been the case the last couple season, it seems as if Ainge is waiting for the perfect deal, and sat tight during this past off season. That's not entirely true. He found a way to unload Raef's contract for Telfair, another young point that's still green behind the ears.


So the problems of last season are simply much more pronounced this season, since we know what direction they are heading in. The direction isn't up. The Cs are still without a solid rotation. As of last night 9 guys were getting 15+ minutes per game. That doesn't even take into account Scalebrine! Everyone's favorite whipping boy is getting 12 minutes a game to do his thing, or more accurately, not do a thing. We're not even going to go into last nights game, where the Cs were trailing the worst team in the league by 17 (!!!) at home in the fourth. It's almost as if Doc is testing the entire front office, and city, seeing how far into the Greg Oden sweepstakes he can push the team before he gets the axe. Of course, if they 'win' his draft rights, it will be the best thing that Doc has done in his tenure as coach.


Despite a superstar and second fiddle, these guys can't get it done in the clutch, can't play D, and most of the time run around like headless chickens. It's not pretty basketball. All the high hopes and playoff aspirations for the team have been dashed in the first month of the season. Despite the ridiculously weakened state of the Eastern Conference this team, with this coach, will never even be a .500 ball club, let alone a playoff contender. You know what, I'm depressed, let's run another pic.

It's a Mailbag! [Loose Balls with Tibbs]
B1 East Regular Season Awards [Loose Balls with Tibbs]
Five Tiny Tidbits On: The Boston Celtics [Deadspin]
The Green Room [Boston Globe]

I'm So Money

That's it, it's time for me to throw down with the big boys. I've finally caved and decided to try my hand at the blogging experience. I figure what the hell, why not. I'll have a bit more freedom, plus expanded topics (and many more posts) than over here, but I'll always link between the two. Expect a whole lot of shit to appear that you won't want to read. But you'll feel compelled to and then comment on what a waste the last half hour was. Funny thing, you'll keep coming back for more.

As if the days aren't already short enough, I'm now going to spend a mind numbing amount of hours drafting new blog topics and reading asinine posts by other hacks that are only slightly more qualified than yours truly. Basically, they own a better computer and spend even more time online than I tend to. All in all get ready for a bumpy ride through the mind of a man who has too much to think about, and not nearly enough time to process it all before it becomes written (typed) word. Yea, that picture personifies your main man, and don't be jealous, there is much more to come.

I've got to point everyone over to CRFC Basketball for some of the most entertaining runs in the city of Boston. We're growing in cult status by the season and if you're in the area, you've got to come check us out. Basketball City has nothing on us!

Loose Balls with Tibbs [CRFC Basketball]

Why Texas Should be it's Own Country [Tical's Corner]

Top Ten Geek Presents [I Stole Your Lunch]