Research Papers, Kicks, Drug tests, and overrated class of 2011 players: just another day for ya boy.

Okay, so I'm finally back at it after a few weeks off and let me tell you guys, these have been the two most stressful weeks that have ever graced my life. Through these last tow weeks, I have barely seen any basketball on T.V. or in person(except Tuesday night). But I will get to that later on. I really don't feel like explaining in thorough detail why my life is on the edge right now but I will put out little points that cut to the chase and display to my audience my disposition at the moment. That is all you can really ask from a fly dude like myself anyway, right?

Things that have stressed me out to the point where I'm ready to pull a trigger!

1. Research Paper

I know mostly all of you guys have had to write one of these pain in the anus's at least a couple of times in you school years( Hurst, Moose, and BET are probably doing it right now) and let me inform you, all the commotion and hooting and hollering from this paper has taken at least 6 good years of my life away. First off, I am currently in AP Language and our papers have to be 8-10 pages compared to a pitiful 4 pages for regular English. Basically comparing the strenghts of the two English classes, AP is like a Dwight Howard. Regular is like a Kevin Durant. You do the math on that one. Secondly, I didn't even finish my research book, Native Son. It's not that it wasn't an interesting book, because I was very intrigued by it. But my laziness is like that girl that I know is a gold-digger, but I'm content with her because I'm just become accustomed to her style. So because of my laziness, the last two weeks I have slept an average of 4 hours a night. Most nights consist of me reading diligently on sparknotes and me frantically rummaging through my notecards trying to find key facts. I don't really know if I did well on it but let's just say my ability to BS a literary criticism isn't so shabby if you ask me. And to put the icing on the king cake(shouts out to the NO and Madri Gras) I only had 5 percent plagiarism on my paper when I used turnitin.com. That's just wavy baby!!! I just hope I don't fail because my teacher let us in on a little secret the day we turned our papers in...if we fail the paper, we fail English. Damn.

2. Kicks Drama

I know I sound like a woman expressing these emotions but I cannot find a pair of shoes that define me! I've been saving up for the past 3 weeks for a fly pair of footwear but I'm not satisfied with all this bullcrap I'm seeing. Either they don't have my size or I'm just not willing to cut some more cheddar to make it happen. But I realized as I bought myself some Nike air max's today on pickyourshoes.com that if I am to be an aspiring sneakerhead, price should not inhibit me. I don't believe it will stop me now as I am somewhat pleased with the shoes I just bought. They still don't define me, but I'm not trippin anymore. Money is not even an issue with my moms either. She said as long as I give the Big Man his 10 percent and put money in my savings, i can blow the rest. Well, my response to that? My income tax needs to hurry up so I can go on and purchase the shoes THAT WILL DEFINE ME...YEEZY'S!!!!

3. Drug Test

Yes, I smoke weed and yes I was called for a "random" drug test yesterday afternoon. My heart stopped as I heard them call my name on the intercom and I was in shock. Out of 2,000 people in the school, my name came up. And I haven't even smoked in like 4 weeks while half the school is blowing on fruity everyday. But let me stop getting on another cats because it is no one's fault but my owns. I shouldn't have done it and I have to accept that I made a mistake. As far as percentages go, I think I have a 70 percent chance of passing the test. 4 weeks is ample time to get that stuff our of my system but you never know. This has really put me into a funk for the past few weeks and I just pray to God things turn out a brotha's way. I'm officially done with weed for a while now so that means I got to move some people out of my life. Just got to keep it moving bro...

4. Class of 2011

Finally, enough about me and on to some hoops! Tuesday night, me and tow of my homeboys went to the Big House AKA the Mississippi High School basketball state playoffs. We thought we would go and check out the action since we got put out the week before. Don't worry, we will make a deep playoff run next year. Anyways, as we were riding to the big House, this is how the convo went down.

Me: So who's playing tonight?

Gerad: East side and Hazlehurst.

Me: Ay, doesn't East Side have that big mammoth Johnny O'Bryant?

Ife: Yeah, if you ask me he is overrated.

Gerad: Dude, everyone in the class of 20011 is overrated. They underrate 2010 for some odd reason.

Me: Maybe because half the dudes that are in the 10th grade are supposed to be in our grade or freakin Seniors right now.

Ife: Hell yeah.

Gerad: Just like LaQuinton Ross(Rivals no. 1 overall player in class of 2011). Dude is like 18.

Me: He wasn't even that good when we played Murrah two weeks ago, scouts are just on 2011's dick too hard.

Ife: And to think the dude we are about to see is in the top ten in his class.

Me: Cant wait to see this hype fizzle out.

• And how right I was as big Jonny O'Bryant proved that not all hyped up big men are as good as praised. When I first glanced at Johnny, I had an instant player comparision for him. Hasheem Thabeet. Fresman year Thabeet to be exact because this year Thabeet is tearing up the Big East more than my little niece dows Chris Brown posters. J.B. started the game by missing his first 6 shots from the flooor and getting hung on his first dunk. Let me point out to you that the tallest player for the opposing team was 6'1. And Johnny is freakin 6'9, 220, I believe. J.b. was rattled the whole game as he was trying to "flash" the defenders by using Chris Bosh fadeaways instead of dominating the little midgets like an Amare in the post. the only thing I can possibly see that the scouts like about this dude is his athleticism. He did have some nasty alley's and he double-windmilled one of them. If that's even possible. He was also a swat machine as he racked up 7 blocks. But with that little good came much worse screw-ups as he had 6 turnovers, only 10 points, and he fouled out of the game early in the 4th quarter. His team, Eastside High, lost by 7 with him sitting on the bench in pity crying his eyes out. I'm going to back off of Johnny now because he is still just a sophomore and a season of tough AAU basketball outght to straigten him out. Just like Thabeet, hair and all, he is raw offensively but a menace to society on defense. I'll give him another yer to prove his true dominance but if the class of 2011 is so much more dominant than 2010 then J.O.B. cannot be in the top ten. Sorry scouts.

So that is just a brief run-down on what's been going on in my brain for the past couple of days. this post was supposed to be done days ago but I'm such a busy man that i rarely have time to do write-ups about anything anymore. But as usual, I thank you guys for the time to share my soul through this blog. Oh yeah, Fly society...

• Nate Robinson


• Camron( Welcome back, killa)


• Deron Williams
  
• Wade(Player of the week)


• Shaq(45 and 10)
  
• The clispe


• Asher Roth(Thanks B.long)
  
• Gucci Mane...sike!


• L.O.
  
• Mo Williams
  

That's about it. If you have anymore suggestions you know where to hit me up. play wit it.

P.S.: I you haven't seen VH1 storytellers with Kanye west, you are not on your job and you need to check it out asap. it is truly amazing. shouts out to Mr. West.

Appreciating Scalabrine

A Moose Track

Brian Scalabrine is very, very under appreciated. Well, I mean, you watch number 44 on the court, and you laugh. White. Carrot top. Sort of fat (for an NBA player). And you are entertained. The "PUT IN SCAL!" chants from the crowd might be mocking him, as I realized a long time ago. And I used to be entertained by the appearance and slightly bumbling play of Scallie (he does play great defense when you need it, though).

But the under appreciated part of 'Brine is that he is one of the most humorous, outgoing, funny players in the NBA. I mean, of course he doesn't play that much. But the guy is hilarious. Plus, he plays the game the right way. And he can shoot the three ball well.

So, here are two very entertaining (in a different way) videos from the press conference that Scalabrine participated in after they won the 2007-08 NBA Finals. Which he didn't play a second in. But that's beside the point. On to the hilarious and hard-to-hate redhead.





Now you'll watch Brian and not laugh at his play. You'll laugh at his personality and sense of humor.

--Moose

SLAM = The Greatest

A Moose Track

B. Long had a post just like this the other day. And it makes sense that I would do one just like that right now. You know how SLAM was giving away the Damani Adidas shoes? 100 pairs, you know what I'm talking about? I was selected randomly to win the EQT B-Ball Low x Damani shoes, along with an UNDR-CRWN shirt and a Damani mixtape.

I want to thank SLAM for this profusely. If any SLAM editors or anybody who is connected with SLAM, again, I want to just say thank you. I can't wait for my size 13 shoes and large shirt, just can't wait. Eboy and B. Long, you guys were right. SLAM does the best job taking care of their faithful, even though there are many.

Thanks again, SLAM.

--Moose

What Happened To The Athlete Role Model?

A Moose Track

Where to start? I mean, seriously, you see the title of the post--and you immediately say, "Oh no. I don't want to be reminded of things like this. Why did he find it necessary to do a whole post about it?" But, it's a legitimate question. What HAS happened to the athlete--or just plain celebrity in general--role model? Or, really, why has the role been filled with so much controversy?

I'll start with baseball. Steroids. Steroids. Steroids. It's cheating, we all know that. It started with Sammy Sosa and Mark Mcgwire--two men, known as two of the greatest hitters of all time, were in a home run race. They were both on their way to break the single season home run record. And they both did it. A few years later, it was discovered that they both took steroids. And, in front of the supreme court, all Mcgwire could say was, "I'm not here to talk about the past."

Umm, that's why you were there, Mark. And it was your own fault, too.

Barry Bonds, home run king--steroids. A cheater. Forever tainted. Disappointed all of baseball. The Mitchell Report. Over a hundred players took supplements and aren't being called out for it yet, it's confidential. But the deal is, they're out there. And in a leak, the newest revealed player will be the most important one: Alex Rodriguez.

A-Rod took 'roids from 2001-2003, winning the MVP award one of those seasons. It just makes me sick to my stomach, that these people would cheat just for personal glory. I mean, how do you live knowing that you were doing that? I mean, I wouldn't be able to. And, when he was on TV to apologize and fess up, he didn't really confess, blaming it on "youth and stupidity". I mean, it just gives me a headache. And there are still those 100+ guys out there.

Constant DUI's float around the sports' wire, from all sports. And I'm not just talking about sports. Illegal actions have been taken by countless actors, actresses, singers, anybody with a name. And they get jail time, fined, ridiculed--and the media seems to love it. Drugs, alcohol, reckless spending and assault/battery are only a few of the offenses that many musicians, actors or athletes have been convicted of.

The fact is, the people that were originally supposed to be role models, men and women to look up to, are becoming and have become criminals--definitely not role models. But they are, whether they want to be or not. And they can't control that. Shape up, celebs.

Or a whole new generation is gonna be just like you. Cheaters and felons.

--Moose

POSTSCRIPT: Sorry if this post is a little angry and resentful. But that is exactly what I am. Sorry if the tone was a little harsh.

An Ode To Michael Jordan

A Moose Track

******Here's the deal. I had to write an ode for writing class at school, and I wrote one to Money. Thought I would post it here.******

Dribbling effortlessly down the court
Shooting
Turnaround jump shots perplex opponents
As he puts his best skill to use.
Dunking,
Soaring through the lane to posterize the helpless defender
Passing,
Racking up assists and leading his team to victory,
Defending,
Leaving the offense clueless as to how to beat him.
He makes all elements of the game look easy
A six foot six inch giant
Standing tall and proud
Dark brown skin
With number 23 on his back
He shakes off opponents
Left and right
Like leaves from a tree
He lifts up a team
A league
A city
The greatest basketball player
The world has ever known
He had incredible amounts of skill,
And he was known as one of the hardest workers in the NBA.
Winning championships,
MVP awards,
Defensive awards.
A man who will never be forgotten,
And forever will be
A basketball legend.
Michael Jordan.

Dear John Legend, Thank You. -BETCATS

We all heard about THIS huge story and i wanted to write about it, then i read THIS and decided to post what John Legend wrote instead. AFTER READING THIS PLEASE READ RV'S AARON BROOKS PIECE AND MY NBA PIECE DIRECTLY BELOW THIS ARTICLE. Back on topic, their is no better way of putting this:

Dear Editor:

I'm trying to understand what possible motivation you may have had for publishing that vile cartoon depicting the shooting of the chimpanzee that went crazy. I guess you thought it would be funny to suggest that whomever was responsible for writing the Economic Recovery legislation must have the intelligence and judgment of a deranged, violent chimpanzee, and should be shot to protect the larger community. Really?

Did it occur to you that this suggestion would imply a connection between President Barack Obama and the deranged chimpanzee? Did it occur to you that our president has been receiving death threats since early in his candidacy? Did it occur to you that blacks have historically been compared to various apes as a way of racist insult and mockery? Did you intend to invoke these painful themes when you printed the cartoon?

If that's not what you intended, then it was stupid and willfully ignorant of you not to connect these easily connectable dots. If it is what you intended, then you obviously wanted to be grossly provocative, racist and offensive to the sensibilities of most reasonable Americans. Either way, you should not have printed this cartoon, and the fact that you did is truly reprehensible. I can't imagine what possible justification you have for this. I've read your lame statement in response to the outrage you provoked. Shame on you for dodging the real issue and then using the letter as an opportunity to attack the Rev. Sharpton. This is not about Sharpton. It's about the cartoon being blatantly racist and offensive.

I believe in freedom of speech, and you have every right to print what you want. But freedom of speech still comes with responsibilities and consequences. You are responsible for printing this cartoon, and I hope you experience some real consequences for it. I'm personally boycotting your paper and won't do any interviews with any of your reporters, and I encourage all of my colleagues in the entertainment business to do so as well. I implore your advertisers to seriously reconsider their business relationships with you as well.

You should print an apology in your paper acknowledging that this cartoon was ignorant, offensive and racist and should not have been printed.

I'm well aware of our country's history of racism and violence, but I truly believe we are better than this filth. As we attempt to rise above our difficult past and look toward a better future, we don't need the New York Post to resurrect the images of Jim Crow to deride the new administration and put black folks in our place. Please feel free to criticize and honestly evaluate our new president, but do so without the incendiary images and rhetoric.

Sincerely,

John Legend

It's only one game, but it's more of the same...

How many of you said AB couldn't handle the minutes, the pressure, the responsibility??

How many said Rafer would fit in perfectly with Orlando because he could shoot the 3??

I'm guessing y'all were in the minority...

Like the title says, it's only one game, but it's more of the same...

Brooks once again came through, like he always does when he starts. He posted 19 points on 7-15 shooting, 3 of 5 from downtown, 6 rebs, 8 asst, 2 steals. AND he drilled two big 3s in the final minutes:



Rafer? Well he had 8 assists, but then again Shard and Hedo were a combined 8 of 17 from downtown, so who knows how many of those assists were to them, he did have 3 stls, but that's typical Rafer, and he was 1 of 9, yes 1 of 9, from the field, 0 for 3 from downtown, also typical Rafer.

There's some Magic fans out there who believe Rafer needs a few games to get his shooting straight since he's on a new team. Sorry to burts your bubble, but that IS how he shoots most of the time. I'm not trying to hate on Rafer cus i like the guy, and he was always professional here and he does have certain skills, but there's a lot of fans that don't quite understand why he was traded. Well that's why, he can't shoot consistently. Brooks is the real deal and Lowry brings a new look at point guard spot as well. He did well last night, and i think Houston fans will grow to like this trade as the season goes on. And Orlando fans? Rafer will be better than anything you have healthy at point, but you'll have to live with his shooting and understand this starting now. I swear whether he's on or not depends on things beyond his control, maybe there has to be a full moon, maybe there has to be a kid, a woman, a businessman, a teen, and a celebrity sitting on the front row all in that order, who knows....

The NBA now the top sports league in moral standings?

BETDEPORTES PRESENTS:
The NBA is better than your league

Alright everybody has heard enough of the old 'the NBA is for thugs' philosophy. Although it has died off a little as of recently, i would just like to voice my views about how now, the NBA might be the 'cleanest' league in America by comparing it to others.


NFL - I love football. This is the easiest to dismiss. Nobody has ever accused the NFL of being less 'aggressive' than the NBA. First of all, their is a huge, underloved cause of NFL players who need help AFTER their careers end. Big studies have been done, clincal depression and even early deaths are HUGE issues that need more care. After that comes drugs. Besides the 'party' drug issues (which is something the NBA also deals with, so i cant call the NFL out on this) you got performance enhancers. I have no idea why football doesnt have its own Mitchell Report like paper, but i guess it just does not care. Besides steriods, you got straight up criminals. One of its biggest stars is just getting out of prison for fighting dogs, and it seems just about every month, another dude gets locked up or pulled over. Who remembers when a Cincinnati Bengal was more likely to be wearing Prison Orange than Bengal Orange last year? Or that a certain cornerback gets his name in the news for what he does at clubs, not on the field (PACMAN!!). But this is just the latest example.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gM2ZbtIMv2U72DRClyir-FkX-KBAD96F3SB04.

MLB - I have no idea why baseball is still our national pastime. While we do still got lots of clean players, the biggest names are always turning out to have used some 'roids. We all know about Alex Rodregueiz and his injections. What strikes me most about A-Rod is that he keeps trying to downplay it all. Watch it by clicking here. Saying stuff like "we were amutures" and "we probolay didn even do it right" is the next closest thing to denial. Sure he fessed up, but only because he was called out. I hope Alex does not break Bond's record, but if he does, he will be no better than Barry. But at the same time, what Barry did, and what Alex did do with steriods is amazing. I did read Jose Canseco's first book about 2 summers ago, and he said the majority of the leauge were users. That means it is not JUST offensive players. So, even though Alex and Barry and Mark and Sammy and Migeul all cheated, the guys throwing the balls were cheating too. We all know clown 1 and clown 2 were avid users, which helped them be dominate pitchers. But brining it back to my starting point, i think any sport that is now not as much based on natural ablitiy as much as who can poke the best needle in your ass should not be the national passtime.


NHL - This leauge is a joke. The only reason it is loved, is because it is dominated by white people. You guys are all thinking 'Whoa BET just played the race card' but bear with me. Parents want their kids to have role models that look like them, but with better aspects. So do you really think Soccer Mom Sally and Buisness Bobby are going to let their son look up to a big black man like Charles Barkley? That is what leads parents to raise their kids on hockey. However, hockey is a great sport to watch, very faced paced and intresting. BUT it is also the most violent. Things like THIS happen. On top of it all, it gets NO media scrutiny. The fights are actually tolerated, refs circle around and let the 'entertainment' happen for 2-3 minutes before 'breaking it up'. If that occured in the NBA or NFL (and anytime situations like this happen) 4 letter idiots wet their pants calling the particpants 'thugs'. In the NHL their are no thugs, just 'hockey players.

But what really inspired me to write this was a huge story that isnt getting enough media attention. http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=519904

The NBA may have their own little bastard on the inside, but oh wait, so does the NHL, and he now is working their again! "Tocchet was served with a criminal complaint, accused of financing a nationwide sports gambling ring based in New Jersey in which several current NHL players wagered"

Nascar - Vroom vroom. If you really want to hear my views on NASCAR, good luck. The only way that would happen is if this and this occured at the same time. Either way, you would not like them. I am not this man.

Lacrosse- For people that realize the evil of baseball and football, but's parent forbidded them from loving basketball. Aka this.

NBA - I already told you why the other sports are inferrior, now let me explain why the NBA is better than them. 1. NBA Cares - a program unmatched by anything else. NBA cares is a great thing. It lets people interact with NBA players while preforming community service at the same time. 2. Great plays - Only in the NBA can you find guys doing sensational plays, not saying other sports dont have great plays too. I just am biased on this one. 3. The best commissioner. Who is gonna catch him? Selig? STERIOD ERA. Goddell? EVERYTHING. This guy knows how to run a bussiness, and it doesnt hurt he loves basketball either.


To wrap this up, i think the NBA deserves a better rep. I think it has done everything to deserve it. Stuff like this does not happen in the NBA anymore. Or at least not to such a dergee. Until the NBA has its Marshawn Lynchs, its Alex Rodregueizs, its Roger Clemens, its Todd Bertuzzis, and its Kostitsyn brothers i dont see why it shouldnt rise to the top of the sports spectrum.


Cat out.

Post All Star-ness

So (shortest ever post by me)....
Durant won MVP for the Rookie Challenge (tick).
JJ did not win the Horse comp. (cross).
LeBron did not win ASG MVP (cross).
Kapono didn't 3 peat (cross).
JR didn't win the Dunk Contest (cross).

So... overall I did pretty awful in my tips, but who would've expected some of those results anyways hmm?

School sucks for me so much right now. FML.

Hope you all stay safe and well.

Peace, Hursty.

PS- I saw the T-Mac injury coming...just like 95% of people grr.

(*remember to check Moose's post beneath*)

Looking Back On All-Star Saturday Night

******UPDATE: TYSON CHANDLER TO OKC, SAM CASSELL TO SACTOWN (FOR 2ND ROUND PICK).*******

A Moose Track

Hello, basketball blogger world. Coming off of all-star weekend, color me . . . unimpressed. But, before I give my thoughts on it, I'll give you all-star weekend bit by bit.

I'm going to start with Saturday night, because I didn't watch all of the Rookie-Sophomore game. So Durant just dominated, as I saw in the box score. Anyways, they said that all of it started at 8:30 . . . and it didn't. So me and my 5 friends were sitting in front of the TV, talking about how funky D-Wade was dressing. And why the hell does he have a band-aid with his name on it? Hmmmm.

Shooting Stars contest. Derek Fisher gets booed thoroughly, and laughs, winking at one of his teammates. Gotta love Fish for stuff like that. I'm rooting for the San Antonio team, because David Robinson, Tim Duncan and Becky Hammon are all awesome. I'm rooting against the Detroit team especially, because of Laimbeer. And they totally could've done better than Afflalo. I love him as a player, but why not Sheed/Tay/Rip/Iverson/Stuckey? Or even Kwame (haha)? Anyways, Detroit pulls it out. Barbosa wasn't going to hit any half-court shots flat footed anyways.

Anyways, the skills competition starts, and we make our picks. Everyone in the room is rooting for Devin Harris, except for me, who chooses Rose. Rose runs roughshod over the competition, but he couldn't have done it in a more boring fashion. He wasn't hustling, he was just going through it smoothly--until the end. That man threw down the 180 pump, and we were stunned. We were all like, "Did he just do that?!" Because, you know, it's the skills competition.

Harris did well, Rose did well, Williams did all right . . . but Tony Parker was disappointing. He was my pick to win it. That man is, arguably, of course, the most skilled man in that group with a ball in-game, but then he gets to the stage in all-star weekend and couldn't make the cut. So, at the end of the skills contest, I'm already slightly bored because the commercial to material ratio is at about 6:1.

Three point contest. We hear all of the judges talking about how Kapono is in a whole different league than all of the rest of them, blah, blah, blah. We all pick Kapono to win, except for my one friend, who really likes Daequan Cook for some reason. None of us were rooting for Kapono, but we all thought he'd win. I was going for Roger Mason, but I don't remember who everyone else was going for.

The three point contest was . . . well . . . where the hell was Ray Allen and Eddie House?! As in, nobody did very well at all. The highest score was, what, 18? And that was because Cook was on fire. None of the sharpshooters lived up to standards, especially Kapono, who was the hands-down favorite to win it. We were just waiting for the dunk contest.

Commercial. They come back, and who do we see? We see Kevin Rudolf singing "Let It Rock", even though he can barely do it. I leave the room out of embarrassment for the league, and then I come back when it's over. Not really. But it was embarrassing. OK, the dudes are introduced. Cheryl Miller goes to midcourt and takes out Howard, asking, "So, what are you going to do tonight?" Howard replies, calmly, "I don't know." I laugh, and she says, "Well, you should probably come up with something." He says, "Yeah, maybe." Dwight is one of the should-be-most-liked dudes in the L.

The room picks Robinson, although we all think that Dwight is going to win it. JR with the first dunk. Nasty. Nothing special, just he threw down hard. Enough for us all to go "Oooooh." Rudy takes off his jersey to reveal this dude Martin, the first Spanish player in the NBA. Nobody knew who he was, but it was good. Behind the back, off the glass, throws down. Very, very nice. I was surprised at how good it was. But, I did vote for Fernandez daily for over a month, so I got what I wanted, I guess.

Time for Nate. Robinson comes out with a nice dunk, with me still laughing at how short he is. Just a question here, but is Nate really 5-9? If he's listed that low, he's probably shorter than that. Kind of like Dustin Pedroia (who's actually 5-6, MVP!). It was very good. Dwight Howard comes out. We lean closer, waiting to see what Dwight comes out with. Ehhhh. It was OK. Nice dunk, but 50 points? Nahhh.

Next round. JR Smith put us all to sleep after he tried the dunk about a million times, changing it a bunch. It was annoying, and not all that great of a dunk. It was OK. Then comes Rudy, bringing out Pau Gasol. He really stressed the Spanish thing. On the first attempt, he missed, of course, but that just built the adrenaline. I thought, That dunk, if landed, would be just sick. Of course, it took them 11 tries (Pau's fault) but at the end, when he did land it, it was nasty. It was truly a great dunk, the air he got was great, all of it was nice. Of course, because the judges don't want to vote him higher than Nate or Dwight because they want to see what they can do, they don't give him as much points. Rudy got shafted. Sorry, Mr. Fernandez.

Nate's next dunk, jumping off of Wilson Chandler. Pretty good, but it kinda defeats the purpose. I mean, if a five year old gets the cereal from the top drawer with a step-stool, did he really get it? Exactly. Something to think about. A good dunk nonetheless. Howard comes out. Goes into the phone booth. I get excited. Comes out with the cape, but was the skin-tight jersey really necessary? Methinks not. Clever stuff, though. Jameer comes out to help. Jameer! To hell with the surgery, I wanna help Howard. Anyways, they get a hoop to 12 feet. He takes it off the backboard and dunks easily. 12 feet! That was crazy stuff, if not flashy.

Nate and Howard are left. Robinson comes out wearing all green. I am confused. But then I'm not. Kryptonite. KryptoNATE! He pulls off one of the greatest dunks that I've seen outta that lil' man, great stuff. Howard followed it up with an almost free throw dunk, like Dr. J. But, it wasn't original. Good, but, ehhhh. Nate brings out a green ball. Howard stands in the paint . . . I say, "No, he won't do that."

He did.

It was impressive when he jumped over Spud Webb. But Spud was 5'7". Howard is 6'11". Nate jumped 14 inches over his own height. I know, technically he didn't because he did a mid-air split, but he barely touched Howard. That was just nasty. Props to Howard for letting him be a prop in his own defeat. He caps it off with a slightly in-your-face Crank That dance. We rush to the computer to get Nate the votes, because that was too good to be true.

Howard breaks off his dunk, which was good, but it couldn't live up to Robinson's stuff. Howard lost by 2%, and you can tell that he isn't happy about it. Great effort, Dwight. Sick dunks, from all of them. In the end, All-Star Saturday was all right. Worth those last couple of dunks, all right. Best commercial? The Barkley-Wade-Howard one. Great sense of humor from all of them. And, of course, "EAT THE HEAD!"

As for HORSE, ahem, GEICO, I didn't watch. I couldn't find it. It wasn't part of all-star weekend, so I couldn't find it online. I saw the highlights though, and it didn't look as good as it could've been. Durant can snipe, though. Anyways, there were my thoughts. Overall: Meh. By the way, these were done in a liveblog type of sense, and it wasn't: I wrote this up just now.

--Moose

The Death of Rick Ross

The biggest war at the moment, i present the Rick Ross - G Unit conflict. While i am not a huge fan of either of them, i think 1 side is clearly the winner. Just read.

Rick Ross, the biggest FRAUD that we have seen thus far?

First, click the link, and hear Lloyd Banks bury this fool.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHnsO4_PIks



then view this picture:














Now, in chronological order, hear the how things happened:

1. Rick Ross starts shit: I love to pay her bills/can’t wait to pay her rent/Curtis Jackson baby mama/I aint askin for a cent/Burn the house down/gotta buy another/don’t forget the gas can/jealous, stupid muthafucka" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rET0KA2TnQs

2. 50 goes apeshit and murders him. 50 is sinister. Although we all know his fight against the game was lackluster, he still has experience with other beefs. 50 knew about Rick Ross's crime fighting past (as a parole officer) and decided it was time, after this latest insult, to end Ross's career.

This hilarious cartoon, voiced by 50 should have done it alone:

part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFw7HLbAqdM

Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wPLB_H4oUc


But that wasnt enough. 50 then went out, found Ross's baby's momma, and interviewed her THEN TOOK HER SHOPPING
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHPUN0YeuuY

Then made a song to dedicate the whole expirence:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdNOBdQIgKE


As if that werent enough, he then creates Pimpin Curly and makes 2 funny videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoIaDnmJb5Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzceafyE-mc



Add the array of dis tracks 50 made, and you can see why this is such a unfair battle. Ross was on a crutch before 50 did all this, and now 50 broke the other metaphorical leg and took a shit on his face. Besides this ruining Ross's career, it also made G-Unit a force again. They were actually worth listening to. Although Gucci is my favorite mix tape maker for ever, i might have to do some downloading of G-Unit's latest stuff as it comes out now.

So as if you couldnt tell: THE WINNER IS 50 CENT.

Just thought you fools should know.

Mister Senor Love Daddy's PSA

*******Gather 'round the campfire, kiddies. Hibachi 2.0 has a lil' trick up it's sleeve. We have raised the bar, upped the ante, changed the game. Justin Walsh, SLAM Intern (and soon-to-be full time writer, if SLAM knows what's best for them) will be writing a biweekly column for this blog in order to keep it fully up-and-going while Hursty is gone (and after that, too). It will be a themed "Who's Hot, Who's Not" type of thing, with races included. Whatever Justin wants to put in, really. It will be current NBA news, and some of his opinions on it. Get excited! I'm gonna hand this one over to Mr. Walsh himself . . . ********



Waaaaake up!
Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!
Up ya wake! Up ya Wake! Up ya wake!

This is Mister Señor Love Daddy.
Your voice of choice. The world's
only twelve-hour strongman, here on
WE LOVE radio, 108 FM. The last on
your dial, but the first in ya
hearts, and that's the truth, Ruth!

Here I am. Am I here? Y'know it.
It ya know. This is Mister Señor
Love Daddy, doing the nasty to ya
ears, ya ears to the nasty. I'se
play only da platters dat matter,
da matters dat platter and that's
the truth, Ruth.

Thank god for Spike Lee. Thank god for Samuel L Jackson. Because without 'Do The Right Thing' in 1989, I couldn't give you my 'Bachi 2.0 blog introduction in only the way Love Daddy could. Here's the rundown- This aint your daddy's corner store & I'm not your father. I'm going to give it to you straight, you can take from it what you will. And that's the DOUBLE truth, Ruth.


ACT I: THE MOST VALUABLE PLAYER.

Ladies and Gentlemen, we can sit on a padded fold out, talkin' bout Dwight, CP3, possibly even Wade in reference to this most prestigious award. But let's be real, this is the year of the ultimate conflict. This is Harry Potter/Voldemort. This is Kobe Bryant/LeBron James. We can shoot the breeze about which is which. We can bring up the fact that LeBron makes everything he does look easy. But for each of us with that POV, we get a cat next door swearin' on the good book that Kobe does things so hard, that nobody else can do it. Pick your poison. No Kobe fan will dare say LBJ has bested the Mamba. No Bron fan would go within 10 miles of even considering Kobe being the MVP over their King. I won't lead you either way. Instead, I give you a story. You will decide for yourself which is Kobe, which is James. The winner shall be your MVP. Without further a due, Radio Raheem:

RADIO RAHEEM:
Let me tell you the story of "Right Hand, Left Hand." It's a tale of good and evil. Hate: It was with this hand that Cane iced his brother. Love: These five fingers, they go straight to the soul of man. The right hand: the hand of love. The story of life is this: Static. One hand is always fighting the other hand; and the left hand is kicking much ass. I mean, it looks like the right hand, Love, is finished. But, hold on, stop the presses, the right hand is coming back. Yeah, he got the left hand on the ropes, now, that's right. Ooh, it's the devastating right and Hate is hurt, he's down. Left-Hand Hate K.O.ed by Love.

What does that tell you? You know who you chose. I leave you with my favorite Kobe mix, and my favorite Bron mix.

FUEL TO MY FIRE (Mix by Arek Kissoyan, the lead video editor for ballislife)


LEBRON JAMES 'KING' (Mix by Tyson Johnston, video editor for ballislife)



ACT II: ACTIN' A DAMN FOOL.

Who's hot, who's not, who's win, who's loss. That's what's at stake here. Here's the nitty gritty, from your main man.

SMOOTH AS A CRUISE-BOAT FLOATS WHEN I'M WALKIN'.

1. Kevin Durant. Say what you will about the Oklahoma City Thunder. Say Clay Bennett is a bad person, say he did Seattle 7 shades of dirty & you will hear not a word of argument from me. But, then let the words out your mouth. "Kevin Durant can score. I mean drop major numbers. I mean he drops more numbers than the economy drops jobs." You would say that, and I wouldn't argue. Not one bit. For the season, he's averaging 39.9 minutes a game. In that shade under 40, he drops 25.5 PPG on 47.9% shooting, 42.9% from the 3PT line, and 85% from the FT line. Think about that... 25 PPG with percentages of 47/42/85? Damn. Also, 6.7 boards, 1.23 steals, 2.8 assists. This is his second year in the L. He's skinnier than those kids from the african poverty commercials. Seriously, Kevin Durant stood next to a few Phoenix area kids while accepting the Rookie Challenge MVP award- Holly MacKenzie noticed his arms were thinner than a prepubescent little girl wearing a pink T-Mobile shirt. 12 year olds got more beef than young buck. But he bangs in the paint, scores from deep, and doesn't get bodied. Like the special cat, Jason, who dropped 20 points and got him an ESPY nomination..."hot as a pistol."

2. Rajon Rondo. This University of Kentucky product has been hated on by you, me, your mother, your sister, your friends...Hell, my 95 year old great grandmother ragged on Rondo's game. We just figured, he's got big....colossal hands, and a shot that a coaches son could best in a shooting competition (no seriously, it really happened once). But then you watch how he carries the Celtics. Yes, I said HE carries it. Put it this way- Kevin gets hurt, the Celtics can still get to the finals as long as Paul Pierce and Ray Allen and Rajon & crew play their ass off. Pierce gets hurt, same thing. Allen gets hurt, same thing. You lose Rondo? You trying to tell me that the Celtics could still get to the finals? Sorry, don't believe it. Rajon Rondo keeps his big 3 getting the ball evenly. He gets his 8.5 assists, his 2 steals....But what really impresses me is that regardless of what deficiencies he might have, he is the integral gear to the offense. Hate on this statement all you want, but there is no way that Eddie House, Pruitt, Tony Allen, or anybody else could run the point for the C's and get them to the finals.

WHAT AINT NO COUNTRY I EVER HEARD OF.

1. Shawn Marion. I really don't know what to say. They call him The Matrix. See, that movie was the shit. This Shawn Marion isn't that Matrix. He's not even Matrix Reloaded, or Revolutions for that matter. Shawn Marion isn't even the mathematical matrix. No, Shawn Marion, in his current state, is the butt of an old Dave Chappelle joke from his "For What It's Worth" tour. Here's the part of the joke I mention:

"finally, one guy in the back snapped. I seen it. "AAAAHHH. RUSH HIM, He can't come on all of us!" And he charged up the aisle. And it was like a movie, this homeless dude seen him comin' and shot one off..."AAAAH" [imitates a...well you know] I dodged that shit like THE MATRIX. The guy behind me wasn't so lucky, yall. "No...Noooooo" [shot hits him on the forehead]. That shit was gross...That didn't kill him, but I'm sure that f*cked his day up."

That must be what it's like to have this version of THE MATRIX, Shawn Marion, on your team, screwing up the offense, calling out for more plays in the media, having all his career stats plummet like the nasdaq- I liken having Marion on my team to having a homeless dude bust one on a forehead. That's basically what Shawn has done to his career at this point. Remember when we were saying he was the most efficient guy in the league? Man, I miss those days.

2. I don't think you can possibly follow Shawn Marion in the "I'm not living up to standards" list. I think having just him in this list is fine and dandy, thank you very much.





ACT III: CONCLUSION.

SWEAR I could have died of boredom in the skills competition. That is, until Derrick Rose unveiled that pump 180. That was the best skill I saw in that whole competition. The 3PT contest left me with a gross taste in my mouth. The Dunk contest was annoyingly tedious when anybody, save for Nate Robinson & the last 2 dunks Dwight Howard had were up (Dwight took way too long for his first dunk, and to be honest with you the phone booth thing took WAY too long for me). Apparently, LBJ wants in next years competition. I say, more power to him, but he had better show me more than the yawn-fest he gave me at the McDonalds Game. He seriously did nothing but jump high and dunk hard. He had better SHOW ME SOMETHING.

For my parting shots, I'd like to give a shout to Jordan Hamilton, my boy from Compton Dominguez HS. He's going to play in the Jordan Brand Classic in April. It's going to be his first play of the year, since the CIF made a dumb mixup and made him ineligible. I'll be at the JBC, covering the game for SLAM. Best believe Jordan is going to fill it up. And that's the truth, Ruth.

-Justin Walsh aka Mister Señor Love Daddy.

I love me some....world news and global affairs. A update about the world by the Ultra Cat

ASG weekend is gonna start, and if you are like me, you do not want to read about it (anywhere other than SLAMONLINE). However, the Cat will be M.I.A tomorrow, for the Cat celebrates Valentine's day. SO the Cat decided before he goes off to clog up the phone line for the next few hours, he will inform you on his take about the big stories in the world. These will be rushed, because i have a certain someone that has priority over this and that i must call soon. Real people>Yall. But i still heart every single one of you!



Plane Crash in Buffalo

http://www.google.com/news?num=30&hl=&ned=&ie=utf-8&q=Flight-3407

In case yall havent heard by now ^^^ happened. This is terrible. Thoughts and prayers go out to anyone affected.

Israel Elections show country is moving in wrong direction

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/mideast-watch/2009/02/12/palestinians-give-thumbs-down-to-israeli-election-results.html

Ever since i became intrested in global affairs, this region seemed the most intresting. I always google news it now, to see what the latest 'story' is. This latest one seems to show that the people in Israel do not want peace, or at least right now they do not. I am not sure why, but i think this is a turn for the worse in the middle east.


Rihanna gave Chris Brown herpes

This is probolay the worst thing to follow up the Middle East situation with, but it also could be the best. These two have ruined each others careers. Rihanna gave Chris herpes, Chris punches her.
It has inspired hilarious songs:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRxxmAH-DUs


Australia Wilfires

Hursty already talked about this, but it is a BIG BIG deal. Very deadly stuff.

RAMON SESSIONS RAMON SESSIONS RAMON SESSIONS RAMON SESSIONS RAMON SESSIONS RAMON SESSIONS RAMON SESSIONS RAMON SESSIONS RAMON SESSIONS RAMON SESSIONS RAMON SESSIONS RAMON SESSIONS RAMON SESSIONS RAMON SESSIONS

All-Star stuff

G'day rock n rollers!

News: Over 180 people have died in bushfires in Victoria (a State) over the last week, some of which were deliberately lit (bastards!). Please send out your prayers and thoughts for those afflicted.

Onto brighter news:

All Star Game MVP: LeBron. Just cos.

3 Point Shootout: Jason Kopono. Even though he's had less than half the 3pt shots made than almost every other player competing, dude's won it twice in a row. 3 is magical anyways.

Dunk Contest: Anyone but Rudy Fernandez. Not a highlight reel dunker. He's got some flashy alley-oops, but thats it. Nate takes too long to get a dunk down so he's out too. JR and who else? Um, Dwight. I go for JR though. Dwight should win, but I'm going with JR.

Rookie Challenge MVP: Durant. Who the hell is gonna guard that man? Beasley?! LOL, If it were a rookie I take OJ purely because he's a better shooter than Rose and you know there'll be plenty of open looks from downtown. Driving lanes are going to be exposed as well, but both are explosive enough to get to the bucket as well.

HORSE (not GEICO) winner: Joe Johnson. Cos he's awesome. And it'd be wrong not to support a guy who's jersey I just got.

Celebrity Game MVP: Chris Tucker or Donald Haison (scrubs) at least, those guys I hope will win. Terrell Owens will probably win though. Does that make sense? Meh haha.

So who do you guys have for the events? Post em below.

What else? Oh! Marion hit a game winner! A dunk. The Bulls let Shawn go in for a dunk...to win the game...wth.

Deron Williams is beasting...as explained on SLAM. Props.

Rajon Rondo with a LON triple double : 19points, 15rebounds, 14 assists.

Shaq and Kobe are playing together again. Should be interesting.

Devin Harris is still balling, strangely so is Vince. Coolness all round.

Mike Brown is a hater. Who doesn't love Joey Crawford?

Bill Russell is 75. Happy Birthday! Which reminds me...

HAPPY VALENTINES! Hope everyone had a nice day/is having one. Mine was good!
DP- How goes it with the bycicle lady? Still spinning with her?
Moose- My sister is your age...she likes guys. Reciprocal yet lol?
BET- We've heard about your adventures. Answer this as you feel fit ;)

Much love to everyone over the All-Star weekend!

Peace, Hursty.

Tmac done for the year? (UPDATED)

(Don't forget to read Moose's new piece after this!!)

UPDATE IN RED

Tmac had an MRI done today and it revealed a freaking piece of cartilage missing! Where did it go?? Can't believe the doctors missed something like this, so I'm waiting for some kind of explanation. I have to put some blame on Tmac as well because he obviously was never "back", yet he claimed he was. I'm sure it was the pressure, but he still shouldn't have done it.

The doctors will further examine the MRI to see if he can play out the rest of the season or if he needs to shut it down and have microfracture surgery. The surgery will be needed only if the missing cartilage could possibly end his career.


Well once again there's drama unfolding in Houston. Here's what I know so far.
- Tmac sat out tonight's game against the Kings. A local reporter with credibility says Tmac held himself out of the game and neither the doctors or the team told him he could not play.

- prior to the game, the team issue a statement saying no further damage was seen in the MRI and that everything was the same.

-At halftime, Tmac stated he's looking for second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth opinions. He says for the last few games he's regressed back to where he was early in the season, the pain is back, weakness, etc.

- Trade Rumors- ESPN reported Houston was interested in an Artest for Carter trade and the same local reporter says Houston has been making lots of calls trying to make deals happen, possibly as many as 3 trades, but nothing is certain yet.

So what's the media and fans take? Well some believe Tmac is blocking a trade. Either one that's in the works or any that may develop. Kind of makes sense. If he's been slowly going back to his injured self for a few games now, why not have the MRI sooner? Why wait until the trading deadline talks heat up? So it's possible he wants to make himself seem like damaged goods so he'll stay put. Or this MRI could have been requested by another team who's already planning on trading for him, and Tmac saw it as an opportunity to block it. Others believe it's Ron who's going to be traded because he and tmac don't get along, and tmac is sitting out until Ron is gone.


(Read Moose's piece next!)

Playing For Change: Stand By Me

A Moose Track

Hello, everyone. OK, this is not a basketball post by any means, so I apologize if anybody has a problem with that, but I wanted to post this anyways. I stumbled upon this video by way of a friend (lil' shout out to HB for that one) and I wanted to share it with you guys. "Playing For Change" is "a movement to connect the world through music". It's great stuff. Enjoy a great rendition of an absolute classic here.

In basketball news, Felton-for-Tinsley trade talks are very much in-the-works, and they appear to be serious. Also, we get J.R. Smith instead of Rudy Gay for the Slam Dunkeroonis, because Gay strained his left hip. That's all that you might not have heard about. Also, the Battle of the Zero Defenses happened yesterday between the Knicks and the Warriors. The score? 144-127, Warriors. Go figure. The game of GEICO (cringe) will be between Kevin Durant, OJ Mayo and Joe Johnson. Ehhh.

Anyways, I want comments on both of the basketball stuff and the non-basketball stuff please, the point of this post was to show the video.


--Moose

Quote of the day

Yao, explaining how much Deke has helped him with his blocked shots:

“He really improved my shot blocking and confidence,” Yao said. “He lets me do so many in practice.”

The Biggest Boss That We Have Seen Thus Far.

For all you that didnt know, Ramon Sessions started last night.

He played the Pistons.
He lost to the Pistons.

His stat line? :

44 Points, 12 Assists, 5 Rebounds, and only 4 turnovers.


ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSS.

Merry christmas and happy birthday Lakers..

Well it's that time of the year again, when some goof NBA team feels the need to give the Lakers another gift.

Bobcats traded Morrison and Shannon Brown to LA for Radmanovic. SAY WHAT!?!? Exactly. Damn you BETcats!

Yeah, some of you may think it's an even trade, or that Radman was the best player in the deal, but I think Morrison will grow in confidence with the Laker's stars sucking in the defense and Brown is a decent back up. He's very athletic and also will get nice opportunities from the double teams.

The Sign Of The Apocalypse

A Moose Track

I come home from a game. I walk into the kitchen for something to eat. I go to the computer to check my e-mail, Hibachi and SLAM quickly. After checking the 'Bachi comments and responding to a couple of messages, I call up SLAM. And what headline do I see?

"You Say H-O-R-S-E, The League Says GEICO"

My heart dropped to somewhere around my navel, and I sighed angrily. They sold H-O-R-S-E. I'd never thought they'd do it. But they did. They have found a way to get money off of the name of HORSE! What is this? It defeats the purpose of the game! It's HORSE, not GEICO. That is completely wrong.

OK. I put up with the T-Mobile Halftime Report. I was all right with our "DCU Sideline Reporter Greg Dickerson". I let them have the Sprite Slam Dunk Contest. I let them do the Foot Locker Three Point Shootout without complaint. I let them get away with the NBA 2K9 Countdown To The NBA Trade Deadline. I even let FedEx sponsor the NBA International Players page without complaint.

But this was the last straw. They sold HORSE, a game that has forever been played on the playgrounds and for fun, one that will be played for many to come. And now, it won't be HORSE. It will be GEICO. And it won't be the same. As soon as I saw that, I considered boycotting watching it. I am still considering it. Considering it.

What if Dr. James Naismith--the father of basketball, and assumedly the ultimate purist-saw this? What is John Wooden saying right now? What would Arnold Auerbach say? It's disgraceful. They sold HORSE. They did it. And they won't stop. What will it be next? "The Salvation Army Charity Stripe" as the free throw line?

At this pace, they'll sell everything. I have learned to tune it out over the years, to roll my eyes and live and let live, you know? But they sold HORSE! The players will be spelling GEICO. It doesn't seem right. It isn't right.

It's sad. It's dishonorable. It's embarrassing. Shameful. Shameless. Sickening. I love the NBA and the game of basketball right now. But as I age and the advertisements get even more out of hand, I foresee that there is a chance that I would walk away from the NBA in a while. A long while. But when I can't put up with it anymore, I'll be done.

They need to do it for the love of the game. Purists are a scarcity right now, and trust me, I'm not one of them, I love the show of it, and the game of it. They do it for the money. And I understand, they need to get their dough in order to run. But they sold HORSE. Bad enough that ticket prices and souvenir prices are so high. They found a way to bring it to another level.

Let's hope it doesn't move up a notch. Step back and look at what you're doing, NBA, before you sell how a longtime favorite game is played.

--Moose

Fly Kingz

Welcome to another episode of a segment I like to call "Fly Society." The NBA has been roaring with good games and superb performances for the past couple of days and I have missed it all. How can I miss all of the games when I have league pass myself? Simple, research paper. I have been brainstorming on how I am not going to fail English this nine weeks and this paper has taken me out of basketball for a couple of days now. My average time of going to bed is getting around 1:30 p.m. Lovely, right? Then I wake up at 5:30 and we start the day all over again with bullsh*t concerning my research paper. I know I'm making excuses and you guys want to hear the realness so let me get off my soap box and tell you...Lebron, Lebron, Lebron. That is all I can say as I have just looked at this man's box score and my goodness, 52, 10, and 11? I am about as big as a kobe junkie there is but it is getting pretty hard to deny it now. LeBron might actually be better than Kobe. I know half of you reading that are reading this can't believe that I have been in the dark so long, but I haven't. I always knew Lebron was a talent unmatched, unseen, and unheard of in these parts of town but I never knew that this dude could be this good. ever. Just by watching the highlights I can tell that LBJ just loves the big lights just as my man Kobe does. He may like them even more than Kobe does and that is why Lebron is in the classification of a fly ass king.













What is a fly king?






A fly king is a special breed of player that embodies all the talents of being the best freakin player in the world. Only two people fit the fly king mold.











This guy.

and that guy.

so there are no new nominations in fly society guys. just a quick overview to tell y'all who the kingz of this basketball shit is. jets out and to bed.

p.s.:61 was cool, but the trip doub was better. sorry kob.

The Ideal Superstar

A Moose Track

A quick stutter-step. A shift of weight towards the basket. He blows by one man. He drives to the hoop and sees the seven-footer waiting for him and notices that he's funneling him left. The dribbler goes left anyways even though it's his off-hand, showing complete confidence in his skills to make the layup on the more uncomfortable side. He comes to the big man, puts it up with his left hand while shielding the ball, positioning himself where he should be, and faces roaring crowds.

Mark Jackson, the play-by-play man for this NBA Finals Game 4, decides to bring his own Allen perspective into it during the replay of the layup that sealed the Celtics' victory, "I want to play one-on-one with Vujacic. Its time to dance! This is for all of the marbles."

He shoots the lights out. He torches opponents with 5-7 three point shooting close to weekly. He can drive to the hoop on any defender, even if he chooses not to sometimes. He isn't the greatest on defense, yet he plays on this side of the court as hard as the next guy. He is one of the leaders on an experienced team.

Yet the man does so without a scream after a basket. Without a taunt to the refs, the crowd or the opponent. Without a finger wag, an I-can't-feel-my-face wave or "Hibachi!" scream to the fans. He does so often without a smile. Ray Allen defines three words: "smooth", "cool", and, especialy "classy".

When you watch Ray play basketball, the first two words come to mind almost immediately. He comes off a pick on the wing, receives a pass and immediately puts up a beautiful jumper towards the hoop, with textbook form on the follow-through and timing. The ball lofts up in a perfect parabola, swimming through the net with a sweet swish. The whole play is something beautiful to watch, just smooth.

When Ray decides to drive to the hoop, he does so with perfect composure--nothing fazes him, he isn't worried by flying defenders on breakaway layups, he just does it coolly, smoothly. And he gets the two from it every time. When Allen shoots free throws it is also smooth and cool, lining himself up during a concise line routine, and letting if fly--making over 90% of them.

Ray Allen is a superstar--an offensive juggernaut that will get you shots from beyond the arc when you need them. He holds the NBA record for most treys made in one season with 269 in 2005-06. The lowest average from beyond the arc that Sugar Ray has had for one season was .351 for '02-'03 in Seattle. He is a three-point machine while finding other ways to score as well, averaging over 20 points per contest 9 times in his distinguished 13 year career.

He plays like this, yet--it's quiet. Somewhat unnoticed. He lacks the antics of other more creative superstars, and because of it, he is forced to dominate quietly. He was slightly overshadowed in Milwaukee as he shared the squad with Glenn Robinson and Sam Cassel, the cause being his young age for lack of coverage, even though he played well from the start. He was slightly missed in Seattle because, well, nobody cared about the SuperSonics enough. In Boston he is getting more recognition playing for a more elite team, but the personalities of Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett captivate people enough to not care as much about Ray. He's been to 8 all-star games, yet he hasn't been voted on by the fans one time.

I'm not saying that he's underrated. I'm not saying that everything he does goes unnoticed by all. He is just quiet in what he does. He seldom argues with the refs. When Allen stands onto a basketball court and puts on his uniform, it's just business as usual--and you best believe that he's going to take care of that business.

He is a quiet superstar, seldom fazed. He is married and has a child. He won the NBA Sportsmanship award in 2003. He was named The Sporting News "Good Guy" in 2000, '01 and '05. He participates in charities often and is the spokesperson for them. He never trashes opponents, always gives his teammates the responsibility for a win, stressing the role of "team" in games. Hell, he even acted in a movie when he was younger. He says the right things at the right times, understands his role in the world, to model a great one (unlike Mr. Barkley), and he is down-to-earth enough to know that he is not above everyone else. Players and men like Ray Allen are rare in the NBA and every other organization; Allen is the epitome of class.

Why can't we have more Ray Allen's?

--Moose