Drafting Gone Wild

Renaldo Balkman.
Listed: 6-7, 206lbs.
Small Forward
Avg 9.6ppg / 6.3rpg
Ranked #52, taken #20th overall

Welcome to my life as a Knick fan. The pick was #20, the choices were endless. The PG's were there (Rondo, Williams, Lowry), a big man was there (Boone) and so too were some shooters (Brown, Ager and again Lowry). But that didn't matter to Zeke. See Zeke wanted a defensive minded person. He loved the way Balkman was a cross between Dennis Rodman and Ron Artest. He was sold on the fact that Willimas won't be any good in this league. He hated that Rondo can't make a jumper to save his mother's life. He didn't need another shooting guard with the 12 that the Knicks have right now and he did not like Boone at #20. So he went outside the box. Way outside the box. Like if the box was in NYC he went to Australia for this one. Reaching, big time. It left Stephen A. Smith speechless. Read that sentence again. I know. Amazing. I thought the fans were going to riot.

The #29 pick was not a bad one. Mardy Collins, a defend first PG from Temple, is a pretty good pick. I assume Isiah is thinking he can also defend smaller two's and that he already has a roster filled with scorers. So I can't kill him for drafting defensive minded players. It's just that the value of the #20 pick did not belong to a guy no one else would touch until round two. If anything you could have taken him with the #29 pick or trade out of the 20th to the second round. Grab Balkman and with #29 take Collins or whoever else. Apparently the Suns were to take Balkman right at #21 so the Knicks had to take him there because they rated him higher than most teams. Just puzzling to me.
I guess only time will tell if Zeke knows what he's doing, so far so bad.

Other draft notables:
- Hawks flub another top 5 pick with Shelden "The Landlord) Williams.

- Boston now have 3 point guards which tells me they will trade somebody for Iverson or Marion. Telfair, Rondo, West -- no team can go into the season with 3 young PG's. I like Telfair alot. I know he hasn't proven much but his passing skills and floor vision is second to none. You'll see.

- Portland baffled me. Trades all over, I think they ended up with Aldridge, Roy and some English dude. Which is a nice bounty of young talent. Roy might be the best player in the draft. Man Atlanta is so stupid. Plus they got a big body late with another trade with Indiana.

- Nets got two Uconn stars. Boone and Williams. Not bad. for #22 and #23.

- Phoenix traded both their picks to other teams and I have no idea what they are doing.

- Gay traded to Memphis for Battier. My head hurts from all the trades. This is like Wife Swap but with no wives involved.

- Sixers got a bunch of players from trades too. Bobby Jones, Edin Bavcic, and Rodney Carney.
I don't know what to make of this.
I feel some more action going on sometime soon.

- Really liked the Bucks scooping up Noel late in round 2. Steal if you ask me.

- More Round 2 action I applaud was Magic's pick of James Augustine. A solid body in the middle that can spell Howard and/or combo together. Dee Brown united with Deron Williams in the Utah backcourt. Speedy Brown is a nice change of pace from the PG play of D-Will.

- Guillermo Diaz for the Clips will be a nice addition. He can shoot it for real and is still improving.

- Notable no picks include Mike Gansey, Kevin Pittsnogle, Darius Washington, and Curtis Stinson.

Draft Day

With Draft day upon us the trade talk will never be heavier than today.

Here is a link to great NBA rumor site. The Celts trying to grab Iverson is dominating the headlines. Then there is Phoenix and Chi-town talking bout Marion.
Seattle is involved in that as well. They want Marion and are offering Rashard Lewis. Suns coach says it ain't happening. Shane Battier maybe gone from Memphis? Boozer on the go again? Camby man? K-Mart?

So many things to read. Thanks to Old School Nasty for turning me on to this site.

http://hoopshype.com/rumors.htm

Few more things on tonight's draft:

- Few "experts" have Knicks taking Rajan Rondo with the #20th pick. I don't like it, I don't like him as a player. If Lowry is there I'd much rather him. With the Kincks roster the way it is they should be a running slashing type team similar to the Suns. Lowry not only fits in but plays lock-down defense.

- Shelden Williams to Atlanta would be another abortion of a pick by the ATL front office. After last year's Chris Paul debacle they cannot afford another F- pick. There are like 10 players that are better for ATL than that Alien head from Duke. Depending on who gets drafted in front of them the following players might be available. Roy, Morrison, Thomas, Gay, and M. Williams are the short list who ATL can use right away.

- Redick saying now he has a herniated disc. But does not need surgery. This kid's timing is a bit off. First the Wild Turkey stunt now this. Does he want to fall out of the first round?

- The Celtic trade for Iverson is really heating this up. Interesting Philly would deal him to a division rival. Really not making sense to me. I cannot guess on the parameters of the deal but I know it includes at least Celts pick plus Wally Sqwefojaklfaslz and Tony Allen. I hope Celts get at least another player or a second rounder....Cuz that's a little too much for AI. No doubt he's a ridiculous ballplayer but the worth of the high 1st round pick plus two good players is high.

- On a baseball note my prayers go out to Peter Gammons who is in ICU after brain surgery to battle a sever brain aneurysm. He's one of my favorite sportswriters and in studio analysts on ESPN.

Mock Draft (Re-run)

This was posted back in May during the NBA playoffs. I am re-running this on the eve of the draft to have some discussion about it if need be. Feel free.

As far as trades go I can see maybe a Sixer deal going down with Iverson. Or a celtic deal involving Pierce. I would say this may involve the Hawks as well. Maybe a Sixer/Hawk blockbuster trade similar to last years Heat deal.

This is my Draft. There are many like this but this one is mine. MOCK!!!!!!!!!

Raptors: Lemarcus Aldridge, PF Texas (6"10) He's got a great low post presence and is a strong rebounder. The Bulls will love this pick because that means they can draft the "Italian Dirk".

Bulls: Andrea Bargnani, PF Italy (7"0) Think a taller Ginobili. Guy's seven feet tall hence the Dirk reference above. Seems like the scouts love this guy (as they do with most Int'l players). I haven't seem any video yet. Still waiting for my tapes from league scouts.

Bobcats: Tyrus Thomas, PF LSU (6"9) Athletic scorer. Also can defend. Not sure he's going to be great so this may be a "looking back on last year's draft maybe we should have taken Chris Paul" pick.

Trailblazers: Adam Morrison, SF Gonzaga (6"8) Works out perfectly for Adam. Gets to stay where he's loved and is aligned to play with a fantastic point guard (Telfair) for years to come. He can shoot from anywhere and uses picks and screens better than some pro players. Hopefully he's eaten a bit since March and I pray that he shaved that ridiculous wispy mustache.

Hawks: Brandon Roy, SG Washington (6"5) If they don't trade this pick for PG or trade down to get a PG (Williams) then Roy is their guy at #5. He can play right away and compliments Joe Johnson. I would trade this pick in a package for either Iverson, Garnett or trade it down and take Williams or even a Darius Washington.

Wolves: Rudy Gay, SF UConn (6"9) Need a scorer quickly and Gay can and will put up some numbers. Fluid shooter, good off the dribble and as Chad Ford would say "long". Question about his character but if I know Garnett's style of leading, he'll make sure there's none of that in the Twin City.

Celtics: Patrick O'Bryant, C Bradley (7"0) Another trade possibility here because the board poses a problem for Boston. Either take O'Bryant a little bit higher than people think or draft another SF/SG type player. They already have Tony Allen and Paul Pierce. Anyway O'Bryant could develop into a big time low post player and has a good work ethic.

Rockets: Marcus Williams, PG Uconn (6"3) Rockets need a floor leader and Marcus is just that. Knows how to feed a hot hand (McGrady) and knows how to throw into the post (Ming). He's got a real good feel for the game.

Warriors: Shelden Williams, PF Duke (6"9) Dirty-work defender, solid rebounder and can score if needed. Fits in this team nicely. Warriors will also be looking for a Center in the later rounds.

Sonics: Cedric Simmons, PF NC State (6"9) If the Sonics don't trade down to grab a center then JJ Redick could wind up here. Imagine trying to guard the perimeter against Allen, Lewis, Redick, & Ridinour. But I think in the end power prevails in the war room and they take this kid out of NC State. A little early but a potentially explosive low post scorer.

Magic: J.J Redick, SG Duke (6"4) Orlando needs a shooter. A valid three point threat and Redick is just that. Also used screens well and is a very hard worker. And drinks Wild Turkey.

Hornets: Hilton Armstrong, F/C Uconn (6"10) A little high to take this late bloomer but they have another pick at 15. Hopefully the guard they like will be there. They will be afraid of Philly or Utah taking Armstrong. Good shot-blocker, solid rebounder and developing a very good pivot low post game.

Sixers: Randy Foye, SG Nova (6"4) Philly is shocked Foye is still here and sprints to the podium. Assuming Iverson stays in Philly this is a great pick. Inside out guard who loves to penetrate and can create his own shot. Mentally tough and has played his college ball in Philly. Can also run the point at let Iverson play off the ball.

Jazz: Shannon Brown, SG Mich. State (6"3) Fearless penetration's who can become a scoring machine. Come from a great program and has played in numerous big games. Also a good one-on-one defender.

Hornets: Quincy Doby, SG Rutgers (6"3) A true scorer who can run with Paul. Excellent range and can score off-the dribble. Byron Scott loves this kid. This is early for Doby in some people's eyes but not mine. I watched him play in the Big East this year and he put up numbers against good teams. Not to mention he was Rutgers only scoring option.

Bulls: Ronnie Brewer, SG Arkansas (6"7) They have enough scorers so Bulls go for the guard who does "everything else but score". Here is a Bruce Bowen type player who plays hard defense, picks his spots on the floor and hustles.

Pacers: Josh Boone, F/C Uconn (6"10) Has the explosion of Anthony Johnson ease the Pacers PG problem? They'll be plenty on the board to choose from (PG's) but they may just shock the league with this pick. Boone can help O'Neal down low and be third or fourth scoring option. He hustles and will be a crowd favorite.

Wizards: Shawne Williams, SF Memphis (6"9) Wiz need inside help and Williams right now can be that guy. Tremendous athlete who can eventually be a go to guy.

Kings: Tiago Splitter, F/C Brazil (7"0) Patience is a virtue. With Kevin Martin's emergence and the Artest trade the Kings can afford to wait for this very raw but very dangerous looking prospect. They waited a few years for Peja so they know how to treat this situation.

Knicks: Kyle Lowry, PG Nova (6"0) True point gaurd unlike Nate Robinson. What the Knicks really need. If the roster stays the same Marbury can play off the ball and Lowry can run the point.

Suns: Maurice Ager, SG Mich St. (6"5) Deadly off-the dribble moves, decent shooter. Can run with Nash.

Nets: Rodney Carney, SF Memphis (6"7) Another wingman for Kidd. Also good on the defensive end and rebounds.

Nets: Mouhamed Saer Sene, C Senegal (7"0) Few years away from NBA but with Kristic developing well maybe Thorn knows how to develop players overseas. Nets are a now team so this pick is a future building block.

Grizzlies: Marcus Vinicius, SF Brazil (6"9) This is a reach but a slashing SG is what the Girzz need and they won't be none on the board. So the guy can slash and shoot but is a bit unpolished and plays SF. It's either this guy or this next guy.

Cavs: Guilermo Diaz, SG Miami (6"3) Outside shooting, if someone other than Lebron's scored against Detroit would be watching Heat-Cavs. Let's hope Diaz perfects that jumpshot scouts love.

Lakers: Mardy Collins, PG Temple (6"6) Hybrid guard with good size and speed. Very good defender. Could become a defensive stopper if he works hard.

Suns: Jordan Farmar, PG UCLA (6"2) Nash's back-up. Barbosa is better off the point. Knows how to feed hot hand and low post. Solid PG.

Mavs: Paul Misllap, PF LaTech (6"8) Led nation in rebounding three years in a row. This will take some pressue of Dirk to rebound.And gived A.J another big.

Knicks: Aaron Gray, C Pitt (7"0) True seven-footer. Rebounder, low post threat and shot blocker. You know a center. Perfect fit fot Knickerbockers.

Blazers: Alexander Johnson, PF Florida (6"10) Low post scorer. Rebounder, won't clog the lane and a good passer for a big guy.

Mango Salsa (6/26)

Monday's blow.

That's all I have to say about that.

I should have used this excuse to get out of jury duty two weeks ago.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060626/ap_on_fe_st/unruly_juror_2

They should build a giant moat along the borders and fill them with starving alligators. This would alleve the immigration issue. I'm saying this in response to an article I read this morning in regards to our national population. It's reached over 300 Million people. But that's the legal count obviously. No word on an illegal count, but it's figured to be about 30 million. It's also rumored that 1/4 of the 300mm ride the N train with me every morning and evening. Close the borders.

Fun with Dick and Jane was terrible. Carey disappointed in this one. Baldwin was funny but that's about it.

Why is it nice all week (while at work) and crappy all weekend?
Why do people sneeze without covering their nose and mouth?
Why oh why, if there is 9 inches of space between me and the next person does another person think they can squeeze into that spot and comfortably sit their for an entire 45 min train ride?

Outsourcing is a travesty. I would be for it if they outsourced to different parts of the country. But shipping jobs overseas is a slap to the face of the average American. My place is crawling with Indians (from Mumbai and Bangalore) who will be replacing jobs in the next few months or so (not mine). All the firms are doing it but why? Is it that much cheaper? Can you really pay some Indian guy or girl 12K a year to do a job that you pay an American 40K a year? Where is the President on this issue? Like aforementioned, there are over 300 million people in this country. What percent of that is working class? Unless our unemployment rate is zero I would think the jobs can stay here. I think it's a joke. And if my company finds that my job can be done by somebody else overseas (so far my job is safe for the foreseeable future) and they want me to train that person they are going to get a swift kick up the ass cuz El Padrino will quit on the spot. You can take that shit to the bank and lock it in the vault.

Went to a Jewish wedding over the weekend. A first for me. It was very nice. Elegant. Some of the customs were very new to me. I think all that stuff is cool, I like seeing other cultures party. Pretty much, we all party the same. There a difference or two in ceremonies and what not but once the music hits the air it's a traditional grab yer date and rip those floorboards. The breaking of bread, the circle dances, the bride and groom up on a chair, the breaking of the glass, etc. All of it. Good times. The only thing I didn't appreciate was getting dinner served at 1:30am. I know that they cannot be married before sundown but damn that's a late fucking dinner. I would maybe get married in the fall or spring when the sun goes down a bit earlier.
That's just me. Besides that can't be me cuz I ain't Jewish. Now I'm rambling.....

Two out of three in Toronto......Bring on those Red Sox

El Padrino out.

Mango Salsa (Friday Edition)

Friday Edition of stuff I wanted to touch on but don't reall warrant an entire post....

Adam Sandler's new movie Click opens today. I find that some people don't like Sandler as much as I do. I try to figure out why because I think he's pretty funny and most of his movies I've enjoyed. Little Nicky notwithstanding of course. That was probably one of the worst movies ever made. Maybe it's because I watched him alot on SNL. But hits like Big Daddy, The Longest Yard, Waterboy, 50 First Dates, Anger Management, Mr. Deeds and The Wedding Singer. And of course who can forget the exacta he pulled of with Billy Madison and Happy Gilmore. I expect to eventually (I am huge movie guy but rarely end up going to see them in the theaters---I get Netflix) see Click and I fully expect to enjoy it.

North Korea testing inter-continental missiles is a scary reality. More and more countries are arming themselves now a days and I truly believe that one day there could be another World War. And that is frightening. With today's weapons it ain't your grandaddies World War. Besides that this North Korea country really has some pair of nuts. Do they not consider us a threat anymore? Has our "power value" decreased with our current battle against Iraq? If so they are making a big mistake. We are still the most powerful country in the world and will continue to be. We may not be able to put a soccer ball in a net but we still can beat the living hell out of you. Don't try us.

Add one more to the Tuesday's disgusting list. Humidity. Man I hate it. Speaking of Hate. Daily Hater (linked to right) ran a guest spot for Hating on something today. Good idea. I'm 6:1 to win and after my comment on his posting I feel confident. Don't let the comment fool you. I live my life with happiness and zest but in the end of it all. It sucks. And anything that sucks should be hated. Except a vacuum cleaner. They suck but in a good way.

Damn Hurricane season really effecting my vacation situation. We have a vaca booked for Los Cabos Mexico but tow of our friends backed out because they were a couple and broke up with each other. So it's either one or the other or no one at all. Thinking about canceling it and headin back to Jamaica but like I mentioned earlier those damn hurricanes are always lurking.
See the Wlima episode on the Real World yet? That would definitely ruin a vacation.

Interleague play. Pro or Con? Mets get the short end of this stick this time around. At Toronto, at Boston then finish up home away from home at Yankee Stadium. Tough. Plus to me the Yankees / Mets thing is played out. If they want to keep it they should just play three games and alternate yearly the park. Six games is too much. Anyway I think the Interleague thing has ran it's course. They should also alternate yearly. Every even year they should have interleague play. But to a minimum. Maybe two series at home and two away. That makes more sense to me.

NBA offseason is looking mighty juicy right now. Several big name players in trade talks including Shawn Marion and Kenyon Martin. Not to mention the inevitable Iverson trade. This plus the draft equals a bunch of good stories.

Finally a couple of links.....

Meyers is so pissed at the Phillies season and his pitching that he took it out on his wife.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2497723

Best Soundboards. Play Arnie's crank calls....Hysterical.
http://www.ebaumsworld.com/morepranks.shtml

The End of A Season

It's the end of a season. The NBA season crowned it's champion on Tuesday night and with that ended the 2005-06 campaign. It was a good one though. A ton of good ball was played during the 82 game season and it was all topped off with fantastic playoff games. Very unpredictable and very good. Here are some questions and thoughts as we go into the off-season.

Still can't find Dirk. Where did he go? Did Shaq eat him? Did Hasselhoff chain him to a bed at a Motel 6 in Dallas? DIRK!! WHERE ARE YOU?? For all the complaining about the refs this past series it strikes me as odd that what was not mentioned in the lopsided free throw talk was the fact that the Mavs did not drive the ball to the hoop. You not going to draw fouls or contact when your hoisting bricks up from 20-30 feet away from the rim. Crafty Veteran said it best with his "Hesitation Kills" line in yesterday's post (he's linked to the right). It does. On the other hand the Heat drove the ball just about every possession.

I don't know what the Finals did number wise but I thoroughly enjoyed them. We had two 7 foot stars that are totally different from each other. We had Wade, who just proved to the world that he will be a hall of fame type player. We had Riley who not only is a Hall of Fame coach right now but is probably the best qouteable coach in the league. Avery Johnson may be second and we had him. We had aging stars on both sides. Guys like Payton and Mourning who now can both be called champions. While Darrell Armstrong and Jerry Stackhouse have to wait yet another year for Cristal showers. And finally we had good basketball. Forget the refs and how many calls they blew. We still had a rhythm to each game, we had runs, lead changes, steals, blocks, dunks, three's, technicals, free throws, crashing into stands, loose balls, jump balls, clutch performances and choke jobs. Who could ask for anything more?

Can we stop comparing today's stars with yesterday's hero's? Wade is not Jordan. And even after that tremendous performance he put on for the world on NBA's biggest stage....he still couldn't hold Jordan's jock. First is was Kobe, then it was LeBron and now Wade. Please stop. Media folk love this angle. But it's so annoying and so stupid. Jordan was so great that it would take alot more than one outstanding playoff run like Wade had to even sniff the jock of his Airness. Other comparisons have been Kidd being known as the "white Magic". Morrison being compared to Larry Bird. It's just dumb. And it's not fair to these kids coming out of school. The pressure of succeeding at the pro level is great enough.

As I type this I just learned that the Knicks have fired Larry Brown and replaced him with Isiah Thomas which I said was going to happen here:
http://anthony-padrino.blogspot.com/2006/05/isiah-king.html
Well, let's see what you got Zeke. Let's see if you fail at this. This is your last shot. You were a failure at owning a league. You were a failure as a GM/President (twice) and you failed at coaching (according to some he did ok) at Indiana. This is going to be interesting. I just want my Knicks to play like they care, like they are proud of wearing the blue and orange.
Alot of interesting off season topics are on the menu. Iverson, Kobe, Garnett and so on. I'll post something on this after the draft. The Brown thing just took some wind out of my sails.....
I love this game. I think.

The 10 Most Disgusting Things On Earth

I just wanted to inject a bit of disgust into this mundane Tuesday. Of course this is based on my opinion and the list is in not particular order. Although the single most disgusting thing just may be the first one.

Warning: This list is disgusting.

Dirty Sanchez: Does anyone know what this really is? It's so gross that I gagged reading it. I stumbled upon it because I am in the T-Shirt biz and sometimes I scour the internet for funny sayings and pictures. Now I've heard in the past that a Dirty Sanchez was when a woman would give fellatio to a man while he was on the crapper. That itself is pretty gross until this Wikipedia sentence strolled in my life.

Dirty Sanchez is a noun phrase describing the result of one partner having a "moustache" made primarily of fecal matter applied by the finger or penis of the other sexual partner.
It is performed by sticking one's finger (or another object) in one's partner's rectum and then swiping a line of feces under the nose, making a poor quality "moustache" that looks Hispanic, hence "Sanchez".

UGH.

Hemorrhoids are disgusting and painful. Remember when your mom would say "It's far from your ass you want sit on it" whenever you complained of pain somewhere. Well, that saying does not apply here.

Vomitting is completely disgusting. No one enjoys it. Especially if what you are heaving is spicy food. Easy on the Wild Turkey......

Unshaved armpits of a woman. If that means half of Europe than so be it. Ladies, grab a razor and whack that filthy hair. No man will want you even if your punany was gold.

Cigarettes are nasty, disgusting and will kill you. Sorry smokers but there are 599 additives that go into making cigarettes. Click on the link for the full list. Some major additives that startle me include : Ammonia, Butanol, Carbon Dioxide, Sodium Cholride........
http://quitsmoking.about.com/cs/nicotineinhaler/a/cigingredients.htm

Lice is disgusting. Just imagine a few hundred parasite looking bugs just chomping on your skin. Suckling lice are the one's found on Humans (body lice and pubic lice) but there are other kinds that are found on animals. All in all it's safe to say that Lice is disgusting.

Herpes. And I mean any and all forms. I'm including the giant cold sores on the lips as well. I mean it's fucking disgusting. People look at you like your a walking disease. No one wants a feversore. Then they scab and bleed. Ugh. And for those genital one's (the one's that last forever)--- it must not be fun. Sorry, I feel for you.

Anal sex is disgusting. Period. I don't care what anyone says, God made the asshole has an exit only. Now I've been known to be a bit of a cavalier in the bedroom but I draw the line where the good lord split ya. Word.

The Menstrual Cycle is disgusting. And ladies you know it is. Were sorry you have to go through it and we suffer almost as much as you (well, not really but....). We realize it's because God made you to carry children and it's a fantastic thing but damn it's gross. The uterus sheds the lining. Uggghhh.....Read that line again. That causes blood and other bodily fluids to be passed out through the vagina. Icky.

All white condiments are disgusting. In my personal opinion of course. I do not eat any white condiments whatsoever. Mayo is the devil. Now this list also includes dressings, such as Ranch and Bleu Cheese. This list does not include Redi-Whip (cuz dat's a dessert topping). Condiments only.

Mango Salsa

Wade is unbelievable right now. Completely took over that game last night and willed the Heat to a 3-2 series lead. Even if that foul was a phantom call you can't take away what he did to even get that game into overtime. Shaq said it better than anyone else : "He's the best right now". You damn straight daddy.

For as smart as Pat Riley is, why does he think Gary Payton can guard Jason Terry. Jet is just too quick for his old ass and he looks pretty bad out there. I would say you have to have Wade guard Terry and Posey on Howard. And for a guy who was so underrated seems like he's now a bit overrated (Josh Howard). Outside of last night's 20+ performance he made some crucial mistakes down the stretch.

Cuban running on the court like a fool was one of the funniest things I've ever seen. I thought his head was going to disintegrate. I gotta check out his blog to see if he posted anything on last night's game. I think he's good for the league because he cares about his team and the NBA but sometimes he acts like a jackass.

I love mozzarella. Especially fresh. So delicious.

Jury Duty was a blast. Sat in a room with 50 idiots who also ignored the first two notices that were sent to us. Then a little old judge came in the room, berated us for a half hour and said if we don't pick another date to serve that we would be fined $250 and possibly face some alone time with Bubba in the slammer. That shit didn't scare me. But my ass will be there to serve Dec 5th. $250 is no joke to me. I'm a frugal man.

Finally opened my King Kong DVD....what a long fucker. It was good though. I'd say three Jack and Cokes. The best actor in this epic was the actual Gorilla. He was great. It was obviously computer generated but the actor who made the blue screen actions was the same guy who was the Gollum in Lords of the Rings. He did a fantastic job. Naomi Watts was ok. Jack Black was good. Just a bit long like I mentioned.....

While at Pt.Pleasant yesterday I couldn't help but notice the outrageous sign that asks for $7 to come onto the beach. Apparently a family named Jekinson's owns the beach. They actually own the boardwalk too. I started to think how this could happen. I mean it's a beach along the Jersey Shore. How does that get purchased? And who owned it before? Do locals pay? Could I buy a beach? What about trees and parks? How bout the water? Do they own the water that sweeps onto the beach? Is this the most ridiculous thing ever?

$7 my ass. They'll see that in hell. Other places I notice also charge to get onto the beach. But it's only Jersey beaches that charge money to walk on the beach. Cape May, Belmar, etc. I don't know who thought this up or how this is even legal but I will protest any and every charge of money for me to inhabit a beach (much to the chagrin of my lovely lady).

HGH apparently can be had legally (David Segui). MLB again is a disaster when it comes to testing and the steroid policy. They really need to figure this out.

Mickelson just killed himself yesterday. That was ugly.

Hitting the Links

A collection of links to keep everyone busy for awhile. I must be a good citizen tomorrow and serve the Kings County of Brooklyn for jury duty. It's better than work so I ain't complaining.

This is sheer brilliance. Jamming to Beautiful Day while dropping duece is awesome.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=390737&in_page_id=1770

Interesting interview with Roger Maris Jr. on steroids.
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1204353,00.html

Nobody likes Goldiggers.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060615/ap_on_fe_st/gold_digger_3

I love Ozzie Guillen.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2485365

Mets sweep the sorry Phils. On to Baltimore to continue the ass whuppin's!!
Have a good weekend folks.

Dumb, Dumber & Dumbest

This is Dumb, Dumber & Dumbest. It's the story of three athletes who have done some amazing things this week. Amazingly dumb things. I'll start things off with Dumb.

Dumb, a.k.a the choir boy from Duke University, was driving home early Tuesday morning when he noticed a police checkpoint ahead of him. So what does Dumb do? Makes a U-Turn of course! Why he made the U-turn I don't know. I guess he felt like he had too much to drink. Which, when police caught up with him, that was the case. The former Blue Devil star had a 0.11 Blood Alcohol Level and that my friends is a DUI. So dumb gets arrested and the parade of supporters come out marching saying how great of a student athlete he is and how he embodies what a student athlete should be at this prestigious University. Really? Making a fucking U-turn while buzzed less than a half a mile from a police checkpoint is what embodies a student athlete at Duke? High comedy. I wonder what he was drinking. White Zinfandel? Miller Lite? You think J.J is hardcore and goes Wild Turkey on a brother. Hey, I'm just wondering what a student athlete at Duke drinks.

Let's move on to Dumber. We all know athletes that buy Ferarri's drive them very fast when they could. I mean nobody buy's a car like that to take it to the Supermarket. So when I read that Esteban Loiaza, the A's 5th starting pitcher, got caught going 120MPH on a freeway in Oakland I kind of shrugged it off. But then three letters accompanied that article and those letters were D.U.I. DUDE!!! Are you fucking crazy. Do athletes have any brains at all? Do they all think they are indestructible? One wrong turn, one blown tire, one bad thing and your dead. No chance of living, none. Anyone remember the David Wesley crash that killed Bobby Phils? If I recall a fast sports car was involved. I don't think alcohol was involved but that just bolsters my argument. Driving over 120 MPH is dangerous enough but throw in a few beers and it's deadly. He's lucky he or someone else didn't get hurt. A night in jail and a lengthy suspension is two cents to pay compared to what it could've been.

Finally dumbest. I'm sure all of you know about the Ben Rothlisberger
accident early this week. Accidents happen. We all know that. Do you want to know what else we all know? That wearing a helmet while driving a motorcycle can prevent serious injuries from occurring. Apparently Big Dumbest didn't get the memo. Since it's not the law in PA (which looks extremely idiotic right now) he would rather not wear one. I wonder what he thinks now. Now that he has multiple facial fractures including a broken jaw and a concussion. Fool. Your 24 years old, you just came off a season in which you won the FUCKING Super Bowl and the entire town of Pittsburgh treat you like a family member. Ride the damn thing when you retire or how bout' this.....WEAR A FUCKING HELMET!!

Late-Night Snack

Finally, I get my blog back. I couldn't log in since Monday. Ridiculous. Whatever, the Mets are pounding the Phillies again so it's all gravy. It's 7-2 right now in the 5th. This will push the lead to 8.5 and Bravos still are 11 back. They look unstoppable right now but I'm smart enough to know there is alot of season left. We'll see. More tomorrow. I gotta enjoy these Mets while I can.

Mango Salsa

Blogger.com has really been giving me problems. I wanted to post on Friday but they didn't let me. Problems seem to be fixed now but for how long I don't know. Now let's get our sports on..

Mets take 4 games out west and are now 10 games ahead of Atlanta and 6.5 of Philly. Big series starting tomorrow at Philly. I'm not going to say much about it or get too excited because it's still very early. But Beltran is finally start to hit like a guy getting paid alot of money. He still can't play center the way a real centerfielder does but if he hits then let the bloop singles fall.

Mavs look impressive. Team ball re-defined. Playing like the Pistons of 2004 but with better shooters. Shaq is looking his age and it looks like D-Wade just ain't ready to carry a team. I'm not counting the Heat out though. Master motivator Pat Riley had this to say :

"Everybody's written our team off. We lost two games to Chicago and then we got buried in New Jersey in the first game. We were history. And then we were history against Detroit. I'm sure were history now."

He's a scary man.

USA has a real gut Czech match today.

Bernard Hopkins goes out on top after dominating Tarver for 12 rounds. Hopkins had a nice career and really had no drama around it like other Boxers.

Yanks are in a lot of trouble after getting swept by Oakland this past weekend. Not only are they old as a wooden ship but the pitching staff is what I would call "shitty". I wouldn't be surprised if they missed the playoffs.

I have to pass along this website for the people who are interested in the HGH situation started by Grimsley last week. In the affidavit it mentions a personal trainer who works with Prince Albert. I hope there is no link but who knows. Until the players association and that fat toad Donald Fehr agree on blood-testing, certain steroids will always be undetectable.
http://www.deadspin.com/sports/baseball/so-weve-got-some-affidavit-names-179400.php

Four Brothers gets 2.5 jack and cokes (that's my rating system). I saw it over the weekend and it was ok. Andre 3000 from Outkast can actually act. Interesting.

Beer can prevent prostate cancer. I love nerds.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060612/ap_on_fe_st/beer_prostate_2

I prefer tea over coffee. My boss says that's not only wrong but he says it shows female tendencies. Now that just ain't right. Tea is the drink of life. Nothing like a hot cup of tea to start the day. Coffee stains your teeth, stunts your growth and gives you something else to be addicted to. You never hear someone say, "Man, I gotta stop drinking 4 cups of tea a day".
It's not like I don't like coffee. Once in awhile I will have a cup but as far as my everyday hot beverage, tea is for me.

Should we consider competitive eating a sport? Some dude ate 47 grilled cheese sandwiches during a competition in Vegas. He's the same guy who insiders say can challenge Kobayashi for the Hot Dog eating champion.

Padrino out.

VIDA!

It is my duty to inform the general public that Vida Guerra is on the cover of this month's Playboy magazine. And yes I own it. Now I am not totally please with the spread (ba-dum-dum) but all in all it's a fine pictorial. You may remember Vida from her FHM pictures. This catapulted her to magazine stardom and eventually the richest girl with the fattest ass. I love America. Anyway check it out.

P.S- Do a search on Google and you'll find naked cellphone pictures of her all over the place.
It's phenomenal.

AIRSTRIKE!!!!

Great news.

http://www.cnn.com/

Check out the dead head of one of the world's deadliest terrorists. AIRSTRIKE MOTHERFUCKER. Now what. Now who ya gonna behead. This is the guy who sent that video a few weeks ago taunting us and basically saying there will never be peace in Iraq. This is how the war on Iraq should be. Fuck all this pussy-footing around. Let's fucking drop bombs in places where terrorists inhabit and make sure they are big bombs. Insurgents on foot don't stand a chance against a 15,000 pound daisy cutter. Let's bomb and then patrol, bomb and patrol. This war should be over. But for some reason Rumsfield and Bush love Iraq.

I'm not political but I must say I do support the war. I feel like this needs to happen for the world to be a safer place. Especially the US. We are the target of many countries and Iraq was probably number 1. Going there and cleaning house all while giving them a chance at democracy is a good thing. But the way the administration is handling it has been a clusterfuck. And that's been the problem with the Bush administration. Everything from gay rights to federal funds have been mishandled. I won't get into anything else. I just wanted to post some good news about a very bad man.

#4

The title #4 refers to this year's NBA Finals outcome. It's in reference to one the baddest, SHUT YO, player in the land. Yes, that's right. I predict Shaq Diesel and the Heat will prevail in this year's NBA Finals and walk away with a ring. Shaq's 4th overall. It will take 6 games. Mark Cuban will have to watch the Heat celebrate their title on his own hardwood.
Here's why:

SHAQ: Still the most dominant inside force there is. He's makes the smartest decision with the basketball every time he touches it. Posting, passing, re-posting, scoring and rebounding. He'll be able to get deep position which will force the Mavs to double and leave an open shooter. As long as he stays out of foul trouble he can be a menace on the defensive end as well. Dampier cannot guard him and neither can Diop. I know no one on the Heat can guard Dirk but they have more options than the Mavs have at guarding Shaq.

Posey, Walker, Haslem, Anderson, Mourning, Wade : All mentioned I am sure will at some point guard Dirk. Just to give him different looks and double teams. Like I said, Mavs can't do this with Shaq. Not enough big bodies.

Wade : Best player on the court. Scores, passes and defends well. Nobody drives the lane better. And with no big man in the middle to change his shot there will be no stopping him.

Payton/Mourning combo : You know the deal. Two all-star veterans, career dwindling down. Signed with Miami for a chance at a ring. Now here it is.

Riley : Say what you want about him but the guy knows how to coach. He knows how to win and he knows the Finals. For as much as a "star" Avery Johnson has become you have to believe he's overmatched here.

Heat in 6.

Mango Salsa

This name is growing on me. I think the commercial is hysterical. MANGO SALSA!!!

Ole' Soler pitched well last night. Shot in the arm for the back end of the rotation. I hope it continues. Trachsel pitched well last time out now let's see if Orlando Hern can stabilize and just give quality starts.

Soriano has got to be the skinniest home-run hitter ever. I mean the guy is a twig. He just flips his wrists and boom. How bout his season so far. Ranks 2nd in NL with 21 HR's, 2nd in Slugging %, 5th in Runs Scored and is holding his own in LF. After a off-season of turmoil about the position switch, he's putting together a serious (runner-up) MVP campaign.

Draft in baseball today. Always an interesting draft. Alot of hard-throwing kids in this one. Doug Drabek's kid looks pretty good-- also Tony Pena's son looks for real.

I'm doing a football stadium tour with a few buddies. We just started it last year. Our first stop was Atlanta, GA. The Georgiadome was a rocking for a showdown with the Bucs. It was a good game. Bucs won in overtime after Vick fumbled in his own territory. 34-31. This year it's Green Bay. I want to see Brett Farve in person. I also plan on a more local one. Knock out two in one season. Probably New England or Philly. The reason I bring this up is because I would like to do a baseball one too. I'm starting this year and I'm going over some picks now.

I've been pretty busy at work lately. My partner had a child and is out for two weeks or so. I'm keeping the posts short and sweet.

NBA Finals pick will be posted tomorrow.

I'll close by saying she came up a Wie bit short.

El Padrino, out.

Mango Salsa

Hi I'm Dirk. I've arrived.
Well it's about time. What a monster he was last night. Especially in the 4th quarter.

Heat win tonight. Head to the Finals to face Dirk and Co.

Bonds is in town. Him and his giant elbow pad are at Shea this weekend. I predict he'll go homerless while he's here. His numbers at Shea stink anyway and his back is sore. I have a felling his reception from the fans won't be good.

Braves are 5 back. Phils 5.5 I'd have to say I feel more threatened about ATL than PHI......

I just heard Paris Hilton new single. It's terrible. She should stick to making movies. Home movies.

May check out The Break-Up this weekend. Two reasons. One, Aniston is naked in it. And two, Aniston is naked in it.

By the way New Yorkers are still pissed off over yesterday's news which I posted on the previous post. And in today's news the Jerkoff does not deny anything. In fact he says it's justified. http://www.nydailynews.com/

Knick gazilionare owner James Dolan has a band. Yep. A music band. I have nothing else to say.

Jerkoff Chertoff !

Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff has cut New york City's federal anti-terror funds by 40%. Well not exactly him himself but he obviously approved it or more importantly didn't stop it. Incompetent bureaucrats actually stated the reason for these cuts was because NY had no "national icons" to protect. WHAT? Are they talking about NY? The same NY I live in? The same NY that millions and millions of tourists come to see? What do you think they come to see? Hot Dog vendors? Meanwhile politicians that voted on this budget plan felt places like Louisville, KY and Omaha, NE deserve monster increases. This is insanely ludicrous. Politics at it's best. Mayor Bloomberg said it best when he was quoted saying "When you stop a terrorist, they have a map of NYC in their pocket. They don't have a map of any of the other 46 or 45 places that get funding". Amen brother. Amen.

Here's a list of all the "national icons" New York doesn't have:

Statue of Liberty : Not only does she stand for freedom in America but it's visited by millions of people every month.

Ellis Island : Across the harbor from Manhattan it was the passage for millions of immigrants setting foot upon American soil. Your parent's parents, my parent's parents. Also visited by millions.

New York Stock Exchange : Um yeah. This is pretty important to the world fuckheads. Today's NYSE volume is 749,515,000.

Empire State Building : Prior to the Twin Towers it was the tallest building in NY. At one point it was the tallest in the world. It's where King Kong met his fate, it has a classy facade, a art deco spire, and an observation deck that invites the best views anywhere. And since NY is the media capital of the world most broadcasts come from the top of the Empire State Building.

United Nations : Headquartered (of course) in New York it houses 191 member states and is divided into different administrative bodies. I don't have to write how important this building is.

Brooklyn Bridge : When the city you live in has a bridge that is featured in a Bugs Bunny cartoon, it's a national icon. Not to mention how many motorists, pedestrians, and bicyclists use the bridge on a daily basis.

Chrysler Building : This gorgeous skyscraper has been gracing the East Side on NYC since 1930. When erected it was the tallest building in the world until the aforementioned Empire State Building. It once was the home of the entire Chrysler Corporation.

Rockefeller Center : It's a complex of 19 commercial buildings between 48th and 51th streets. Located in the heart of Midtown. It's also home to the best Christmas experience one could ever imagine. Even during non-holidays this area is constantly packed with people. I actually work in the area. Right across the street from Radio City Music Hall.

Federal Reserve Bank : It only holds more gold than Ft. Knox. Assholes. Ever see Die Hard With A Vengeance? When they steal the gold from the reserve? Yeah, that's actually a place. And it holds billions and billions of dollars in the form of Gold (and other metals).

Yankee Stadium : I'm not a Yankee fan but it is a nostalgic piece of land here in NY. Located in the Bronx borough it was the House That Ruth Built. Monument park beyond the center field wall is a classic memorial for great Yankees that have passed. They also pack in 40K plus every Yankee game.

Penn Station / MSG : The main hub for Amtrak, Metro-North, LIRR and NJ Transit. I mean I can't even tell you how many people pass thru this place at any given day. It's also home to Madison Square Garden, the most famous arena on earth.

Grand Central Terminal : Another giant transportation hub. Just about every subway train stops here and also house the same trains as Penn Station. Also consists of restaurants and bars.

Federal Hall : It was the first Capitol of the United States. It's now a museum that displays it's history.

Trinity Church : One of the oldest churches in the world.
Ever see National Treasure? Alexander Hamilton is interred there.

Grant's Tomb : Located in Riverside park in Harlem. Ulysses S. Grant is buried there.

And that's not all. What about places like Central Park? The Plaza Hotel? The shops along 5th avenue? The largest Subway system in America? Times Square? The Metlife Building? The Holland and Lincoln tunnels? Trump Tower? The new Ground Zero? South Street Seaport? American Stock Exchange? City Hall? Gracie Mansion?
St. Patricks Cathedral? The Verranzano Bridge? Coney Island?

I can literally go on. There's more. Believe me. A 2000 census review of NYC shows 8,168,388 people inhabit NYC. Second is not Lincoln fucking Nebraska. It's LA. With 3.8 million people.

Now I have nothing against these places, Nebraska I'm sure is a nice place to live. But Mr. Chertoff please don't piss on my leg and tell me it's raining. New Yorkers are not dumb. Don't say there are no "national icons". That makes you, head of Homeland Security look like a fucking imbecile. And since you started it. I'll finish it. Go fuck yourself jerkoff.

Here's the news link: http://www.nydailynews.com/