The San Antonio Spurs dispatched the New Orleans Hornets in a rare game 7 win for the Spurs. Now the Spurs face MVP Kobe Bryant and his Los Angeles Lakers team. It should be an entertaining series. Let's see what the Spurs have left in their tank.
I read Johnny Ludden's article about Greg Popovich and the Spurs and a couple things stood out in my mind. The first thing that caught my eye was that he noticed that both Chris Paul and David West did not stop to shake their opponents’ hands after the game. I can understand the Detroit Pistons doing that to the Michael Jordan led Chicago Bulls after they finally lost to them in a tough, hard fought series in 1991, but the Pistons were the "Bad Boys" of the NBA in the late 1980s and briefly into the 1990s, so that sort of gamesmanship was standard for them. But the Hornets doing that to the Spurs? Gees, that just sounds like they let their youth and inexperience show them the way. Sure, they'll get their chance in the not too distant future to claim their championship, but leaving the court the way they did, Hornets showed that they never really respected the Spurs, and maybe that's why they lost the series.
Ludden also pointed out NBA commissioner David Stern's apparent dislike of Gregg Popovich and the San Antonio Spurs. It's sad that he would rather see his most storied franchises meet in the NBA Finals in the Lakers and Celtics, and their television revenues, than a franchise that epitomizes teamwork from top to bottom. It is unfortunate that Stern's more worried about his bottom line.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Spurs Disappoint
The San Antonio Spurs blew a golden chance to take game 5 against the New Orleans Hornets in the Western Conference semifinals. Nursing a small lead at halftime, the Spurs let Chris Paul and his cohorts take control of the game and subsequently the series. The Spurs looked like the inexperienced team coming out at halftime, by turning the ball over on consecutive plays, taking ill-timed shots, not fighting hard enough for rebounds and barely scoring double digits (11) in the 3rd quarter. Instead the Hornets, the younger and apparently inexperienced group, looked like the team poised to take control.
If the Spurs continue their lackadaisical and inconsistent play, they will most definitely find themselves watching the rest of the NBA playoffs, not on the sidelines, but in the comfort of their own living rooms.
If the Spurs continue their lackadaisical and inconsistent play, they will most definitely find themselves watching the rest of the NBA playoffs, not on the sidelines, but in the comfort of their own living rooms.
Thursday, May 01, 2008
In the Changer- New(ish) Music
I've been sitting on this topic for months now and it's about time it gets posted. Well, it's just that I got tired of seeing my note about this blog sitting the desk for the past couple months. I've listened to these cds and I pretty much give them my thumbs up.
Radiohead's In Rainbows, their latest, is another great album from the lads from across the pond. Nothing new here, but why would you want them to do something new? Their sound is as fresh as ever and they continue to impress.
Colbie Caillat and Sara Bareilles each put out a great cds last year, Coco and Little Voice respectively, and while both releases contain catchy songs, but A Fine Frenzy's One Cell in the Sea is a vastly superior album. It is almost as if Enya put on a red wig and steered her way into the pop music scene. There are elements of Enya-inspired melodies scattered throughout which make for memorable ballads and melancholic lyrics. Sure there are a couple tracks that border on the cheesy like "You Picked Me," but songs such as "Almost Lover" vault this cd into instant classic for me.
Y34RZ3R0R3MIX3D is another good cd from Nine Inch Nails, much better than the original Year Zero album from a earlier in the year, but nowhere near as good as NIN's With Teeth from two years before. This remixed version has also an enhanced cd so one could make up their own mixes since each song is separated in different tracks. Yet another brilliant move by Trent Reznor.
Cafe Tacvba released their newest album, Sino, in late 2007 and is their best studio album, maybe since Re. One could argue that Reves/Yo Soy is as good, but Sino is levels above their previous cd Cuarto Caminos. I'm still waiting to catch them in concert, who knows what'll happen, but having their music in my library is almost good enough for me.
There was a Beatles tribute album made back in 2005 called, This Bird has Flown: A 40th Anniversary Tribute to The Beatles' Rubber Soul. My buddy Gary also a Beatles-phile, first told me about this cd and it didn't disappoint. Included were some magnificent covers like The Donnas version of Drive My Car and the bluegrass inspired Think for Yourself. I especially loved Surjan Stevens' What Goes On; it's as if the song was deconstructed, reessembled and redone as a totally different song. There are few echoes of The Beatles in this track. But on the other hand there was at least song that I thought did not work as a cover. Unfortunately the title track of this album, Norwegian Wood (This Bird has Flown) did not do it for me. It seems like The Fiery Furnaces tried too hard to make this song sound Beatle-esque and may have lost the verve this song has in its original state. Otherwise, it's a nice album to add to anyone's Beatles musical library.
Radiohead's In Rainbows, their latest, is another great album from the lads from across the pond. Nothing new here, but why would you want them to do something new? Their sound is as fresh as ever and they continue to impress.
Colbie Caillat and Sara Bareilles each put out a great cds last year, Coco and Little Voice respectively, and while both releases contain catchy songs, but A Fine Frenzy's One Cell in the Sea is a vastly superior album. It is almost as if Enya put on a red wig and steered her way into the pop music scene. There are elements of Enya-inspired melodies scattered throughout which make for memorable ballads and melancholic lyrics. Sure there are a couple tracks that border on the cheesy like "You Picked Me," but songs such as "Almost Lover" vault this cd into instant classic for me.
Y34RZ3R0R3MIX3D is another good cd from Nine Inch Nails, much better than the original Year Zero album from a earlier in the year, but nowhere near as good as NIN's With Teeth from two years before. This remixed version has also an enhanced cd so one could make up their own mixes since each song is separated in different tracks. Yet another brilliant move by Trent Reznor.
Cafe Tacvba released their newest album, Sino, in late 2007 and is their best studio album, maybe since Re. One could argue that Reves/Yo Soy is as good, but Sino is levels above their previous cd Cuarto Caminos. I'm still waiting to catch them in concert, who knows what'll happen, but having their music in my library is almost good enough for me.
There was a Beatles tribute album made back in 2005 called, This Bird has Flown: A 40th Anniversary Tribute to The Beatles' Rubber Soul. My buddy Gary also a Beatles-phile, first told me about this cd and it didn't disappoint. Included were some magnificent covers like The Donnas version of Drive My Car and the bluegrass inspired Think for Yourself. I especially loved Surjan Stevens' What Goes On; it's as if the song was deconstructed, reessembled and redone as a totally different song. There are few echoes of The Beatles in this track. But on the other hand there was at least song that I thought did not work as a cover. Unfortunately the title track of this album, Norwegian Wood (This Bird has Flown) did not do it for me. It seems like The Fiery Furnaces tried too hard to make this song sound Beatle-esque and may have lost the verve this song has in its original state. Otherwise, it's a nice album to add to anyone's Beatles musical library.
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