the "Superfriends"

D-Wade, LeBron, and Chris Bosh. As I'm sure you've all heard are teaming up in Miami to form a supergroup known as the "Superfriends". They've decided to forgo winning in other cities, and all re-locate (with the exception of Wade) to Miami. They're thinking it'll bring multiple championships, plus the amazing lifestyle of living in South Beach.

It got me thinking. This same scenario happened to a lesser degree just a short while ago.

The year was 2008. The location: Washington DC & Pittsburgh. I just got home from another day of Audit work, to find out my roommate at the time, Aaron, had just accepted an offer to start work down in DC (Reston technically). He was taking his talents elsewhere, decided to team up with Gigs down in DC. That's where every young professional wanted to be (other than NYC aka the Lakers).

It was a shocking moment that left me with questions. Most importantly, what am I supposed to do now in this struggling franchise known as Pittsburgh? I was that veteran teammate who grew with the franchise, stayed my whole career. But now, after seeing one of my running mates leave, I wanted that elusive championship. I was now stuck on a "re-building" team, and had to get out.

You see not long before this Pittsburgh was a contender. Every year (college life) making a run deep into the playoffs until 2008. Our team was just on the cusp of making the finals, when injuries hit. We'll call these "injuries", ex-girlfriends haha. So in a way, I don't blame him for getting out, starting new. He still had plenty of years left. Me, I was getting close to retirement. That's when lady luck would have it, intervened. On October 31, 2008, I was "released" from my contract and immediately went on the offensive, phoning every GM (employer/Pitt Grad) I knew.

The discussion then turned to Gigs, Aaron and I, all finally landing in DC and reliving the glory days of our rookie and sophomore years, running & gunning.

Less than a month later, it happened. I received a short-term deal to head to DC. There was one slight problem, I was no where near playing shape.

With a new city and opportunity in hand, I took to the gym like a madman, trying to prove myself to the skeptics. A few months into the season, our team was running on all cylinders. Living the lifestyle we all expected would come with the "South Beach" of the Mid-Atlantic.

Then, without warning, it happened. I remember receiving a call from Gigs on July 3rd. On my way back home for a visit. Our coach was let go (home invasion/robbery). No reasons given, some type of behind the scenes motive, but never addressed publicly. It destroyed any chemistry that was built up, and the wheels started falling off after that.

First, I was placed on the 90-day IR. Then Aaron suffered a career-threatening injury and returned home to rehab. Gigs was forced to carry the team for awhile. The team ended up missing the playoffs (everyone moving out). I returned this year (moved back in with Gigs), but it's just a two-man show now. Trying to get into better shape than ever, we'll see what the rest of the year holds. Gigs has started hitting his three-pointers and is back in the "game".

Sometimes even the best laid plans fall apart. It's my prediction the same will happen with this "Superfriends" group of D-Wade, LeBron and Bosh. On paper it seems like a great idea, but life throws you a sinker every once in awhile, and how the hell are you supposed to hit that??

Just for the record in case you didn't get the analogy, that was pretty much the past two years summed up. And more importantly in case you're wondering I guess this is the breakdown:

Gigs - D-Wade (we all eventually moved to "his" city)

Aaron - Bosh (sorry dude, I have no good explaination. He's more a combo of Bosh and LeBron)

Me - LeBron (moved from my hometown, made the "Decision announcement" at Thanksgiving dinner without telling the parents first. Everyone felt betrayed)

Music makes you lose control

Do you ever come across an old "mix-tape" cd that you made in college or high school, and become amazed by the randomness of it?

Right now I'm imagining all of you are nodding your head in approval. This morning while looking for my 2Pac greatest hits CD, I came across two unmarked/unnamed CDs. I threw them in my bag, wondering what possibly could be on them. I'll get back to the Pac reference later.

So I throw in the first disc, and I'm hit with New Found Glory, "My friends over you". GREAT song to start the drive to work. "Head on collision" from the same cd, Sticks & Stones, comes on next. I'm getting pumped that I found this lost album. Suddenly the mood changes severely. LL Cool J is track #3. No, we're not talking about "Mamma said knock you out" or "I can't live without my radio". But, the song "Big Mamma".

Yeaaaaa, I'm thinking, wtf is this??? I let it play through anticipating how random this can get. The final song before I arrive at work is Pantera "This Love". So there is at least a theme to this CD. Yet, when you go from punk to R&B to Heavy Metal, something just isn't right. In the words of the Ladies' Man, "that does not make sense".

Here's what else doesn't make sense in music.

-CDs are still being produced. Listen, the market for CDs is shrinking every year with services like ITunes, Pandora, and Rhapsody out there. The only way to counteract this attack is by having more tracks on a CD. Make it worth it for the consumer to buy a CD instead. Force artists to produce 20-25 track albums. You may think this is impossible, but most major artists record anywhere from 20-45 songs for a new CD, yet 12-14 make the final cut. Throw 20 tracks on a CD, charge $12 for it and call it a day. That's a savings of $8 over ITunes! It's time for record labels to think outside the box.

-The fact people still listen to Phish or Jimmy Buffet does not make sense. I suppose you can call their concerts entertaining, mainly because of the tail-gating and illicit drug use that I assume goes on. Why not just have someone organize a giant listening party for $20/person. You can drink all the booze you want and listen to the CDs, and basically have the same experience. Have you ever listened to them sober? I'm still amazed these two acts ever made it big. They continually sell out show after show, with basically no new material. Lump KISS in there with them. Each time I see those Dr. Pepper commercials, a small part of me dies inside.

-It's a play off of a Chris Rock joke, but I'm tired of Country music telling me just how "country" they are. Listen, when you're pulling in six figures, you no longer can say you're throwing around hay or bull riding. It's the equivalent to rappers saying they're smoking herb, dealing drugs, and shooting people. The only difference is, these guys are probably doing all 3 of those things as we speak.

-Speaking of country music, first they let in Hootie, which is ok b/c his music with the Blowfish wasn't too far from country-folk sounding. Now they're saying Kid Rock and Nickelback are "country" artists?? No, no, no, NO! Nickelback, you stay in your little pop-rock world, making catchy-as-hell lyrics with guitar riffs that sound all the same. You do NOT invade this genre. Your bastardization of "Saturday Night's alright (for fighting)" was enough, I'm drawing the line here.


One last item, as Gigs will tell ya I've been watching every documentary/movie on 2Pac and Biggie Smalls recently. Not sure exactly why, but the one conclusion I've reached is that 2Pac was a lyrical genius. People may laugh, but the man was thought-provoking, and well educated for someone raised in the streets. The fact he finally decided to stop producing new material in 2007, nearly a decade after his death is the most amazing fact yet. I mean the man predicted in late 1990's the nation wasn't ready for a black president and he was right. Hell I'm not sure if we are today.

"We gotta make a change...
It's time for us as a people to start makin' some changes.
Let's change the way we eat, let's change the way we live
and let's change the way we treat each other.
You see the old way wasn't working so it's on us to do
what we gotta do, to survive"

Getting back to basics

It's been entirely too long since I've written anything. Maybe it's because nothing in the recent news feed has interested or prompted to counter-attack. That was then, this is now. It's time for another weekly rambling. 5....4....3....2....

1 - That's the number of brain cells Jason Whitlock and other "sports journalists" share when it comes to their thoughts on NCAA athletics. (http://msn.foxsports.com/collegefootball/story/jason-whitlock-expose-ncaa-not-reggie-bush-072210?GT1=39002) In this article, Whitlock refers to the NCAA as basically "slaving" away the student-athlete.

It's a tired argument made by the media types, that these athletes should be paid. They argue the University is making millions off of their hard work. Here's my argument to put this thing to rest.

First, they are getting paid. Look we're talking about basketball and football players only, because "Made up person in the sky" knows they aren't rallying for the poor lacrosse/track & field/field hockey players. The majority of the "student"-athletes not only receive free tuition, but all of them receive a stipend as well. Whether they utilize the free tuition/scholarship or not, is up to them. This payment is potentially valued anywhere between $10,000-$100,000 based upon the Academic Institution. I'm pretty sure that's more than any college student makes working 20-30 hours/week over their 4 year stay. So if anything, they're already at an advantage over every other student at the University.

In addition, part of their time is dedicated to working-out and film study. Film study is the equivalent to an internship. You're learning more about the "profession" you've chosen.

In summary of this point, these men are not only making more money, but also getting paid to work-out. How again is this like slavery?

If anything, the fact that in today's world there are both unpaid internships while in college and post-graduation, should be the larger topic of discussion. These companies ARE making money off of your hard work, and not giving you a thing in return. Now THAT is slavery. Hell, guys in Jail at least get a free meal and place to live while working on those Highway Paving projects.

This leads to my second point. All companies profit from your work. Sure University football and basketball programs profit in the hundred thousands or millions from games, merchandising, and advertising of these student-athletes. Tell me how that's different than any working professional? Say you were a main contributor in the design of the original I-Phone. We'll say your salary is $70k per year. Yet Apple will make hundreds of MILLIONS off of your hard-work. Is that fair?

A more real life scenario is, recently a co-worker had discovered my company has been "just" missing the opportunity to earn several thousands of dollars extra in travel revenue, due to segments not being properly allocated. Sure, he got a great recommendation, but I'm pretty sure his salary will not increase by much.

While everyone argues about these athletes not receiving extra benefits and pay, while being "slaves" to the NCAA, who is arguing for the poor interns, or those who work on the Hill?

That's the true injustice of this world.


In slightly related news, Senate has passed the resolution to extend the "extension" period for unemployment benefits, by dumping another $32 Billion of National Debt into it.

As someone who has utilized the Unemployment benefits system, I believe I have that insider's point of view. Here's my take on the situation. The $32 Billion is a waste. I without a doubt support the UB(unemployment benefits) system. However, too much of it is getting abused. There needs to be a limit set on how long someone can stay on this merry-go-round. Most states offer 26 weeks of UB. Yes, 26 weeks!! That comes out to roughly 6 months. If that wasn't enough the Federal Government will allow for you to extend those benefits for another 20-53 weeks, and THEN the Extended Benefits program allows for ANOTHER 13-20 weeks.

Listen, the extended benefits need to be cut off after 20-30 weeks. If you passed 3rd grade math, you'll realize that's 46-56 weeks of UB, nearly a year.

I sympathize and empathize with the unemployed, as I've been there. The most recent bout was from Nov-Feb, with December really being off due to holidays. By February I was going insane from the lack of work. However, as many of you know, I was relentless. Each day I applied for 10-12 jobs and eventually received an ideal offer. That was 16 weeks worth. I cannot even fathom milking the system for another 30-40 more.

The economy is bad, and job creation has been slow. However, if you stay at it everyday, there's no doubt a college educated person could find a job within a year. The Government is just allowing people to milk the system with little motivation. Sure, could I have continually collected check after check, while being on a "vacation" for another 30 weeks? Yes, but I was more concerned for my future and reputation. I didn't want to be seen as lazy, nor did I want to place the burden on others to support me.

So I ask Obama to take a stand, b/c I believe we are all making the job market out to be worse than it actually is.

As the Offspring once sang, "Nah, nah why don't you get a job?"

Dastardly Betrayal

"Do you remember
the day I turned to you and said
I didn't like the way he was lookin' at you?
yeah
How he made you laugh
you just couldn't get what I was sayin'
it was my imagination

So do you believe me now?
I guess I really wasn't that crazy
and I knew what I was talkin' about
Everytime the sun goes down
he's the one that's holdin' you baby
yeah me I'm missin' you way 'cross town
so do you believe me now?

I'm kickin' myself
for bein' the one foolish enough givin' him the chance to step in my shoes
He was bidin' his time
when he saw we were havin' a moment of weakness
he was there between us

oh yeah, I bet now you see the light
oh yeah, what's the use in bein' right...
when I'm the lonely one tonight?"

So I was driving into work today, sun shining in through the moonroof, wind blowing through my non-existent hair, and this song came on.

First you're probably thinking, "what the hell were those lyrics about/ok enough of the emo", and secondly, "Mihlf you listen to country?".

The first answer is pretty obvious and the second is yes, it helps calm the rage you build up while commuting in DC.

The song is by Jimmy Wayne and I thought it was fitting for two parts. One being for a situation I experienced a few months ago, and the other being exactly how the city of Cleveland is feeling right now.

Look again at those lyrics. You think everything is going great in your relationship, and you catch your S.O. (significant other) staring/talking to someone else. They tell you it's nothing to worry about, and you get past it, but push it to the back of your mind. This bomb is planted back there waiting to explode. Weeks or months pass by, and whatever happens. You're no longer together with this S.O. and suddenly you think back to this instance and mouth "I knew it!".

Tell me that entire paragraph didn't just describe Lebron's relationship with the Cavs? He's playing there for several years, things are going great. He wins two MVP's, the team makes the NBA Finals, has the best record two years in a row. However, a year or two back, he shows up in a NY Yankees hat. Suddenly, there's talk about him leaving. He assures Cleveland everything is going great, and there's nothing to worry about. They concede to all his needs/demands. Even going into their last week "together" they (the Cavs) think all is ok. He's holding a press conference to announce his decision.

You're thinking, no way will he break up with them on National prime-time television. But you forget, some people are just cold-hearted at nature, and look out for #1. Yes, on National TV, he announces he's going to Miami, to team up with his "best friend". Hmm he left his hometown team for his "friend", who he assured Cleveland not to worry about.

See it all ties back together. I feel for Cleveland. I usually despise everything about them. They rank below Philly and right around DC on my scale of dislike in terms of sports-town. But the went through the equivalent of being broken up via Stadium Scoreboard announcement. If you were with someone and they took you to a baseball game for a "big announcement", would you have any idea it'd be to end it? That's how they feel.

Lebron will ultimately have to come back and face the destruction he caused. There may be rioting, picketing, or worse. He has it coming to him and shouldn't have played the whole song & dance. I'm sure he knew of his decisions weeks ago, and instead of prolonging the pain, should have just made a brief announcement so all parties could save face.

Instead he goes from Super-Hero to Uber-villian. I don't think I've ever seen such a sudden turn of events since Harvey Dent turned into Two-Face in the "Dark Knight".

Again, if you know me, it's humorous how it all ties together.

"So do you believe me now?"

It's been a long time

We shouldn't of left you, without a dope beat to step to...

"Try again" by Aaliyah, keeping with the old school vibe, here we go!

So since the last posting, Soccer apparently ended in the US. I know what you're thinking, "you mean MLS?". No someone said we had a National team playing in the World Cup, and we lost to Ghana. GHANA! I know, who knew that was even a country.

I can just imagine how it all went down. It's in extra time, people are in the bars going crazy, waving their flags, chanting U-S-A, U-S-A, (think Hacksaw Jim Duggan), drinking their Bud Light (even though it's not an American beer). Suddenly, Ghana scores!!

Then like a bad dream, people wake up wondering what happened. They look around with quizzical looks on their face. "Why are we at this bar? And why I am only wearing an American flag for clothes?"

Just like that, the sport of Soccer passes again through the US. It'll be another 4 years till this phenomenon picks back up. Truly it's sad it can't sustain a larger following.

Italy and France were left out of the single elimination round, so now our best bets are either Brazil or Germany. Can one truly cheer for Germany? I mean should we ever support anything they do besides making beer?

Before you know it, they win the World Cup, their industry picks up from the ongoing celebrations. They're feeling a bit bulletproof, Austria and Hungary decide to merge again, and it's 1940 all over. Get ready Obama, the new Fuhrer in town is David Hasselhoff!

In other news...

Went home this past weekend for my oldest brother's wedding. Other than the drive, it was an amazing time. Weather was great, music was playing, and 151 mistakenly became a good friend of mine. I think more people I know need to get married, just so one can drink dressed up in a tux and hit on emotional women.

Ok, ok, you know I was kidding about that last comment. I'm one of the good guys remember?

I tried out a Yoga session on Tuesday, and a mini Crossfit session yesterday. Given that it was my first time for both, I was told I was quite impressive at Yoga. Never before in my life have I been so sore and stretched into crazy positions. Well except for that crazy night in Las Vegas, where I woke up in the Desert, but that's for another blog...

Starting up another season in the Fairfax County Softball league. Last season I got the nickname "Ichiro" b/c of my penchant to never hit for power, but being fast as hell. I'm now looking for street hockey in DC, which is like finding quality food in a sewer.

Looking forward to a 4th of July weekend of nice weather, grilling, pools, tubing, drinking and traffic free adventures!

Happy Canada Day everyone!

O Canada!

Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all thy sons command.
With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!
From far and wide,
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.