Spmusic Monday: It's All Going To Pot
(1 Cent): I Hate All That Jazz!
Friday the 24. The EnergySolutions Arena. 7:00pm. Lakers versus Jazz. Feeling optimistic.
It was a good game; the lead changing hands numerous times throughout. Until the end, when it mattered. Jazz got a hold of some backbreaking rebounds (I think we were out-rebounded 642 to 10 the whole game) and got 2nd, 3rd, and 4th opportunities in one possession to score. It was too much. The crowd chanted "Lakers suck" and blah, blah, blah.
Me and J.D. are now 0-4 (it could be 0-5 ... I can't remember) in Salt Lake. Not good times. Before I die, I just want the Lakers to win once in Utah. It seems like the season series is always split 2-2, with the home team always winning. Well ... February 26th is the next showdown in SLC ... hopefully by then, the Lakers will figure out how to rebound.
At least LA beat New Jersey yesterday ... 9-4 record isn't too shabby.
(2 Cent): Snoop-A-Loop!
There were quite a few CD's that came out during the past two weeks or so. One of them that I was on the fence about whether to buy or not was The Game's Doctor's Advocate. I have his first album, which was really well produced by Dr. Dre and Eminem (with a song by Timberland in the mix). This time around, after severing ties with 50 Cent -- the guy who invited him into G Unit -- and Dr. Dre (the man who "found" him) he goes in alone, without his former crew. Basically, he wanted to prove wrong the people that said he was popular just because of Dr. Dre and 50.
I just listened to the 30 second samples of each song on iTunes and was not too impressed. For me, The Game was an "OK" lyricist but had great beats (from the aforementioned people) and had good guest appearances. Well, maybe his first album was good because it was produced by Dre. For his sophomore CD, I wanted something to blow us away, since he talked so much smack about him being great ... he even postponed the album 5 months to work on it more. Then we get this? Not so much his best moment. He did have some decent producers (i.e. Kanye West, Swizz Beatz, Scott Storch, Just Blaze, etcetera) but the songs were just average (or below) to me. The Game, in my opinion, even tries to sound like Dr. Dre (as he raps) in a couple of songs ... gets a track or two to sound like a Dre produced beat ... and mentions Dr. Dre too many times in various tracks. Like G Unit would say: Game Over.
In choosing today's review, we look to none other than Snoop Dogg for his Blue Carpet Treatment. He has some good producers aiding his cause (Dr. Dre, Timbaland, The Neptunes, Swizz Beatz, Battlecat, etcetera); this album has a unique yet familiar sound. There are a couple of tracks that sound a little more old school like vintage Snoop ... some tracks that are crazy, stretching the limits of Hip Hop sounds ... and a good number of songs. I'm thankful for a CD with 21 tracks (listen up, Beyonce) which have variety.
This is a solid CD with unique beats, good lyrics, great guest appearances, and of course the undeniable flow of Snoop Dogg. With that said, maybe my expectations are always too high on superstar artists because I think this CD is a couple of songs away from being a special album. I still give 'em an 8 out of 10. If you like it Doggystyle, then you'll like Tha Blue Carpet Treatment.
(Note: Just to remind the readers ... I try not to include a radio single in my favorites because I want to review songs that haven't been heard ... and I have only one good Hip Hop radio station, so if I include a radio single that I didn't think was, just go with it.)
**My Fav Five**
1) Track 7, "Get A Light" (Featuring Damian Marley): Surprise, surprise ... a Timbaland produced beat that's crazy good ... a really raw sound combined with Snoop's flow and Marley's unique croon is a nice combination.
2) Track 12, "Round Here": A chill beat produced by Dr. Dre ... a more subdued Snoop ... I like it much.
3) Track 17, "Psst!" (Featuring Jamie Foxx): A new school and old school feel ... Foxx sounds a little bit like Prince ... good jam.
4) Track 6, "Candy (Drippin' Like Water)" (Featuring E-40, MC Eiht, Goldie Loc, Daz & Kurupt): I read somewhere this was a single back in September but I never heard it ... has a cool bass beat ... always good with E-40 ... Daz and Kurupt bringing back some DPG style.
5) Track 8, "Gangbangin' 101" (Featuring The Game): One of the hardest -- if not the hardest -- tracks on the album ... Game makes a nice cameo ... I am a fan of the hook.
(1/2 Cent): Streaking Like Frank "The Tank"
The Busdrivers VI are starting to gain some momentum, winning the two latest games. Unfortunately, there is a downside to the last two weeks: the trade I mentioned last week didn't quite work out so well, but then I somewhat made up for it.
As you might recall, I had traded Mo Williams and Quentin Richardson for Stephon Marbury and Corey Maggette. Like I projected, Q's production has fallen off significantly. I didn't foresee that Mo would be outplaying Maggette (which I will touch upon later). "Starbury" on the other hand has basically gone AWOL. He averaged 10 fantasy points (FP's) for the week for me ... a shocker, because I'd say 25 FP's is an average player. He was supposed to be the X-factor in this trade and still is -- just not in the way I wanted.
Marbury is just not hitting shots, taking shots, making passes ... basically, this is the worst basketball of his career (yes, even worse than his rookie season). Is it because of playing in New York? Is it because coach Thomas isn't playing the right offense? Is it Marbury's new $15.00 shoes? Did Greg Ostertag and Marbury switch bodies like Freaky Friday? Will someone tell me what's going on?!
Needless to say, he's on my bench this week. I hope he comes out of his funk soon ... he'll be the one to either push my team into the upper echelon of excellence or keep me in the top 4 with the rest of the good teams in the league. You guess which one I prefer.
Going back to Maggette ... I used him along with Kevin Martin and Bonzi Wells to trade for my boy Kobe Bryant. Yes, a three for one deal. It was with J.D. -- his team already 0-3 at the time -- which made and will make his team more well rounded (i.e. he can drop some players that shouldn't even be on a fantasy team). So far, I don't really know who benefited more. Maggs and K-Mart both did well, but Kobe averaged 46 FP's for the week. For my team, which had the luxary of having a lot of average or above average players, it was good since I could afford losing multiple good players for a superstar.
If we're just going by a very ilogical stance, I would say the trade worked for me (since I just won) and didn't do so well for J.D. (since he lost). But, his loss wasn't too bad ... so his team is better. Now, if I could just get Marbury to remember how to play basketball ....
Week 3: W - 314.50 to 305.83 ... W-L Record: 2-1
Week 3 Fantasy Stud: Dwayne Wade (MIA, G): 53 FP's
Week 3 Fantasy Dud: Ryan Gomes (BOS, F): 20 FP's (just after the week he scored 30 FP's)
--------
Week 4: W - 299.08 to 194.42 ... W-L Record: 3-1 ... (Tied for 1st Place in Division)
Week 4 Fantasy Stud: Dwayne Wade (MIA, G): 50.5 FP's
Week 4 Fantasy Dud: Stephon Marbury (NY, G): 10.5 FP's
Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving weekend ... we'll see you on Thursday!
HCP
Friday the 24. The EnergySolutions Arena. 7:00pm. Lakers versus Jazz. Feeling optimistic.
It was a good game; the lead changing hands numerous times throughout. Until the end, when it mattered. Jazz got a hold of some backbreaking rebounds (I think we were out-rebounded 642 to 10 the whole game) and got 2nd, 3rd, and 4th opportunities in one possession to score. It was too much. The crowd chanted "Lakers suck" and blah, blah, blah.
Me and J.D. are now 0-4 (it could be 0-5 ... I can't remember) in Salt Lake. Not good times. Before I die, I just want the Lakers to win once in Utah. It seems like the season series is always split 2-2, with the home team always winning. Well ... February 26th is the next showdown in SLC ... hopefully by then, the Lakers will figure out how to rebound.
At least LA beat New Jersey yesterday ... 9-4 record isn't too shabby.
(2 Cent): Snoop-A-Loop!
There were quite a few CD's that came out during the past two weeks or so. One of them that I was on the fence about whether to buy or not was The Game's Doctor's Advocate. I have his first album, which was really well produced by Dr. Dre and Eminem (with a song by Timberland in the mix). This time around, after severing ties with 50 Cent -- the guy who invited him into G Unit -- and Dr. Dre (the man who "found" him) he goes in alone, without his former crew. Basically, he wanted to prove wrong the people that said he was popular just because of Dr. Dre and 50.
I just listened to the 30 second samples of each song on iTunes and was not too impressed. For me, The Game was an "OK" lyricist but had great beats (from the aforementioned people) and had good guest appearances. Well, maybe his first album was good because it was produced by Dre. For his sophomore CD, I wanted something to blow us away, since he talked so much smack about him being great ... he even postponed the album 5 months to work on it more. Then we get this? Not so much his best moment. He did have some decent producers (i.e. Kanye West, Swizz Beatz, Scott Storch, Just Blaze, etcetera) but the songs were just average (or below) to me. The Game, in my opinion, even tries to sound like Dr. Dre (as he raps) in a couple of songs ... gets a track or two to sound like a Dre produced beat ... and mentions Dr. Dre too many times in various tracks. Like G Unit would say: Game Over.
In choosing today's review, we look to none other than Snoop Dogg for his Blue Carpet Treatment. He has some good producers aiding his cause (Dr. Dre, Timbaland, The Neptunes, Swizz Beatz, Battlecat, etcetera); this album has a unique yet familiar sound. There are a couple of tracks that sound a little more old school like vintage Snoop ... some tracks that are crazy, stretching the limits of Hip Hop sounds ... and a good number of songs. I'm thankful for a CD with 21 tracks (listen up, Beyonce) which have variety.
This is a solid CD with unique beats, good lyrics, great guest appearances, and of course the undeniable flow of Snoop Dogg. With that said, maybe my expectations are always too high on superstar artists because I think this CD is a couple of songs away from being a special album. I still give 'em an 8 out of 10. If you like it Doggystyle, then you'll like Tha Blue Carpet Treatment.
(Note: Just to remind the readers ... I try not to include a radio single in my favorites because I want to review songs that haven't been heard ... and I have only one good Hip Hop radio station, so if I include a radio single that I didn't think was, just go with it.)
**My Fav Five**
1) Track 7, "Get A Light" (Featuring Damian Marley): Surprise, surprise ... a Timbaland produced beat that's crazy good ... a really raw sound combined with Snoop's flow and Marley's unique croon is a nice combination.
2) Track 12, "Round Here": A chill beat produced by Dr. Dre ... a more subdued Snoop ... I like it much.
3) Track 17, "Psst!" (Featuring Jamie Foxx): A new school and old school feel ... Foxx sounds a little bit like Prince ... good jam.
4) Track 6, "Candy (Drippin' Like Water)" (Featuring E-40, MC Eiht, Goldie Loc, Daz & Kurupt): I read somewhere this was a single back in September but I never heard it ... has a cool bass beat ... always good with E-40 ... Daz and Kurupt bringing back some DPG style.
5) Track 8, "Gangbangin' 101" (Featuring The Game): One of the hardest -- if not the hardest -- tracks on the album ... Game makes a nice cameo ... I am a fan of the hook.
(1/2 Cent): Streaking Like Frank "The Tank"
The Busdrivers VI are starting to gain some momentum, winning the two latest games. Unfortunately, there is a downside to the last two weeks: the trade I mentioned last week didn't quite work out so well, but then I somewhat made up for it.
As you might recall, I had traded Mo Williams and Quentin Richardson for Stephon Marbury and Corey Maggette. Like I projected, Q's production has fallen off significantly. I didn't foresee that Mo would be outplaying Maggette (which I will touch upon later). "Starbury" on the other hand has basically gone AWOL. He averaged 10 fantasy points (FP's) for the week for me ... a shocker, because I'd say 25 FP's is an average player. He was supposed to be the X-factor in this trade and still is -- just not in the way I wanted.
Marbury is just not hitting shots, taking shots, making passes ... basically, this is the worst basketball of his career (yes, even worse than his rookie season). Is it because of playing in New York? Is it because coach Thomas isn't playing the right offense? Is it Marbury's new $15.00 shoes? Did Greg Ostertag and Marbury switch bodies like Freaky Friday? Will someone tell me what's going on?!
Needless to say, he's on my bench this week. I hope he comes out of his funk soon ... he'll be the one to either push my team into the upper echelon of excellence or keep me in the top 4 with the rest of the good teams in the league. You guess which one I prefer.
Going back to Maggette ... I used him along with Kevin Martin and Bonzi Wells to trade for my boy Kobe Bryant. Yes, a three for one deal. It was with J.D. -- his team already 0-3 at the time -- which made and will make his team more well rounded (i.e. he can drop some players that shouldn't even be on a fantasy team). So far, I don't really know who benefited more. Maggs and K-Mart both did well, but Kobe averaged 46 FP's for the week. For my team, which had the luxary of having a lot of average or above average players, it was good since I could afford losing multiple good players for a superstar.
If we're just going by a very ilogical stance, I would say the trade worked for me (since I just won) and didn't do so well for J.D. (since he lost). But, his loss wasn't too bad ... so his team is better. Now, if I could just get Marbury to remember how to play basketball ....
Week 3: W - 314.50 to 305.83 ... W-L Record: 2-1
Week 3 Fantasy Stud: Dwayne Wade (MIA, G): 53 FP's
Week 3 Fantasy Dud: Ryan Gomes (BOS, F): 20 FP's (just after the week he scored 30 FP's)
--------
Week 4: W - 299.08 to 194.42 ... W-L Record: 3-1 ... (Tied for 1st Place in Division)
Week 4 Fantasy Stud: Dwayne Wade (MIA, G): 50.5 FP's
Week 4 Fantasy Dud: Stephon Marbury (NY, G): 10.5 FP's
Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving weekend ... we'll see you on Thursday!
HCP
posted by HCP @ 12:19 PM
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