Thursday, April 30, 2009
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Mike Tyson On Chris Brown
Mike Tyson on the Chris Brown/Rihianna Situation:
Mike Tyson - who was accused of beating former wife Robin Givens and raping Rhode Island beauty queen Desiree Washington - says he can relate to Chris Brown, the 19-year-old singer accused brutually beating his pop star girlfriend, Rihanna.
“It’s none of my business, but you know what I say about that? I understand the situation. I understand passion with young kids,” the former World Heavyweight Boxing Champ told MTV News on Tuesday.
“My personal opinion about that is, he’s just a baby,” adds the former heavyweight champ. “He’s just a little baby that don’t know how to handle his emotions when it comes to a woman. And he probably hears this and thinks, ‘I know how to handle my emotions’; we all think we do.”
“But the fact [is],” Tyson continues, “you look at this person and you might be crazy in love, but we don’t know how to handle those feelings,” Iron Mike explains.
Chris has pleaded not guilty to two felony counts of assault and making criminal threats.
“Do I think it’s right to beat up a woman? No — hell no,” he adds. “Have I hit a woman before? Hell yeah. Was I wrong? Hell yeah. I’m a product of that environment. Do I regret ever doing that? Hell yeah. Would I do it again? Never.”
LOL I don't make light of this situation or domestic violence. I don't post gossip or ongoing happenings via this story as you can and probably should look elsewhere for that kind of thing (even though you probably shouldn't). But the truth is I am now and always have been and always will be a Mike Tyson fan. I just wish he spoke more because he's such a generally interesting fellow. He could be what Charles Barkley is to sports commentating if someone gave him the opportunity. Has he made his mistakes? Of course but so has Barkley. We all know that won't happen because we're a society of picking and choosing and since we lack consistency we won't give him the same breaks we give other troubled people we like more. Our loss.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Monopoly, Son!
If you're like me and you look fondly on childhood life and the shows and music and times then you'll surely appreciate the fact that the internet has now given you one more thing from the past: a more efficient, more fun, easier, quicker, cleaner version of Monopoly...
GoHERE (and click PLAY AS GUEST) and knock yourself out. Only takes about 30 minutes to get in a good game. It's entertaining and if you're burning the midnight hour writing a paper for school or work or are just putting off sleep this game is going to hold you down TRUST ME. I can't stop playing this...
Matter of fact, take 'the HIS AURA WAS ORANGE test'. Play the game ONCE! Just once! See if you're not hooked. If you're not hooked I'll Paypal you 5 USD!
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Billy Mays > The Shamwow Guy
Because the Shamwow guy doesn't participate in shenanigans like this. He thinks he's above this. Instead he just bites hookers and looks like a melted tan candle. This seriously is one of the 5 most funny random things I've seen in '09. Enjoy.
PS-I'm still not buying either of these guys products but if I'm stuck in an elevator with one of them Billy Mays would help pass the time quicker (n/h).
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Tuesday's Top Ten : Best Shoes Of The Year
For the first time in a very long time, the shoes coming out this year are actually as good or a better option than buying deadstock shoes from your childhood in the past. Now a big reason to this admittedly is that a lot of the shoes coming out this year are either retros or fusions of great shoes that have come out in the past but either way I'm not complaining. I haven't bought a pair of current shoes that weren't just some exclusive hard to find ridiculously priced shoes on eBay since like 2003 because shoes have been so weak. That was all I had in my closet other than boots, Stan Smiths, Uptowns and dress shoes. So this list will need no real commentary obviously, just pictures. I pray that you cop at least a couple pair as if you do not then you will hurt my feelings by making me feel the shoes I like are wack.
Here's the list...
I'm going to waste a great deal of money on shoes this year...
Here's the list...
1.) Nike Zoom Flight Club
2.) Nike Air Yeezy
3.) Nike Air Griffey
4.) Nike Air Sharkley
5.) Nike Air Power Max
6.) Nike Air Jordan Force 9
7.) Nike Air Force 1 - 2009 NFL Pro Bowl
8.) Nike Zoom Phenom
9.) Nike Vandal High Supreme EX Rock n’ Roll
10.) Nike KD1
2.) Nike Air Yeezy
3.) Nike Air Griffey
4.) Nike Air Sharkley
5.) Nike Air Power Max
6.) Nike Air Jordan Force 9
7.) Nike Air Force 1 - 2009 NFL Pro Bowl
8.) Nike Zoom Phenom
9.) Nike Vandal High Supreme EX Rock n’ Roll
10.) Nike KD1
I'm going to waste a great deal of money on shoes this year...
Friday Funny: CK Louis On Being Broke
I know it's not Friday for a couple hours but this is funny and you made it...almost officially through yet another work week and this is a pretty timely laugh that we all need to have around this time of week to maintain our sanity; Especially seeing how broke the nation is right now. So watch this and laugh until you cry as I just did (Especially from the :30 second mark forward). I'm cosigning the comedy in this. I don't put my neck out there unless you'll legitimately laugh and you will. Guaranteed.
Labels:
CK Louis,
Friday Night Funny,
Hilarious
Bodog: 'Bet Against The Lakers And Even If They Win We'll Refund Your Money'
This is how far in the tank for the Lakers the world is.
Bodog will refund your money up to $50 if you bet on another team to win it all and end up losing the bet and the Lakers actually do win. So you can't lose (almost). This shit is ridiculous but if this is your thing click on the Lakers banner below and make some money (or not).
Another Reason NOT To Eat Domino's [Disgusting Video]
If you or anyone you know eats Domino's on at least a semi-frequent basis, I beg you to reconsider. This video will be devastating to your eating habits. Don't say I didn't warn you.
What Do You Do...
...if you take a bite out of your candy bar and you see this? I mean I suppose it depends on how hungryyou are and/or how religious you are. Then again it also depends on how broke you are as items like this are known for finding their way onto eBay and making said person marginally richer. Do you take the candy bar as a sign and hold onto it or do you turn it into a personal stimulus check?
You Don't Really Believe It, You're Just Saying It To Say It
This team is done for the playoffs!
They can't beat LBJ in the ECF!
They can't beat Orlando!
They probably won't even beat seventh seeded Chicago!
Pardon me for laughing at that. I mean they said this last year. They said last year was the Lakers' year and how dare you even walk onto the same court with Kobe Bryant and Kobulous Ko-Stars? Yeah you'll have to pardon me for not caring what these guys say. They always overreach. These are the same guys who double down on the Sooners when they play Boise St. Same dudes who tell you every year that USC might be the greatest football team there ever was.
Wherever there exists an opportunity for these kinds of people to say things like this they swoop in like the vultures they are and assert there opinion into the mix and if you disagree with these cats you're not to be taken serious. The game of it all is that they get you to agree with them if you're to be taken seriously at all and if you do happen to disagree and have the audacity to speak your mind, then you're crazy and that alone is enough of a disqualifier in stating your opinion on the matter. Only if you go along with them and agree just to appease their ego and your shared predictions turn out to be wrong, don't expect for this guy to admit he and popular thinking was wrong because he won't be. He'll say that nobody else could have saw that coming and if they tell you otherwise they're lying. You put everything on the line when you make a prediction counter to popular opinion and when you're right you're just lucky. He puts everything on the line in saying how it's a slam dunk result and you're an idiot for believing otherwise and when he is wrong, he's not really wrong as it was a fluke and flukes happen and his credibility can't possibly take a hit on the matter because nobody in the entire universe could have seen it turning out the way it did.
When you get it right, you get faint praise and revisionism. When he gets it right he makes sure you know how stupid you were for not riding along with him and the world stinks with his farts for a month and you've got to smell them and say the place smells like roses.
Anyway's despite everybody wringing their hands in the air and getting out of their cars doing Chinese fire-drills and yelling at the height of their voices about how all is over and all that's left is dirt and wreaths and how the Celtics can possibly win in any fashion in the playoffs when they still amassed a 27-9 record without KG for the past two seasons...
MY PREDICTION: Celtics 4-2 Over The Chicago Bulls
then...
Celtics 4-3 Over The Orlando Magic
then...
Cavs 4-2 Over The Boston Celtics in the ECF
.....as always if I'm wrong, you're welcome to remind me that I was, but if I'm right, expect to hear about that too....
Labels:
Boston Celtics,
NBA,
Paul Pierce,
The Vultures Are Swarming
Monday, April 13, 2009
Reaction Further Proof Of What Separates Tiger From Phil
AUGUSTA, Ga. -- This is why Tiger is Tiger. And why Phil is Phil.
This is why Tiger Woods is the main course of every tournament he enters. And why Phil Mickelson is Tiger-lite. He's not steak. He's a salad.Woods didn't win the Masters on Sunday, and it was obvious. He stalked out of the official scorer's cabin with red eyes and a red ass, refused to look at CBS reporter Bill Macatee until the camera went live, and spit out curt answers to the media before disappearing. Tiger was asked if his performance Sunday -- he started the day seven shots off the lead and got within one stroke before bogeying the last two holes -- was satisfying or devastating. He went with devastating. "Just terrible," he said. Mickelson didn't win the Masters either -- but it wasn't obvious. He emerged from the scorer's cabin with a smile. He wasn't angry. He was relieved. "It was a fun, challenging back nine," Mickelson said. "I love the fact I shot 30 [on the front] to give myself a chance to win." Mickelson finished fifth and loved Sunday. Woods finished sixth and hated it. Now do you understand why one of them is the most successful player of his time -- and why the other is the most frustrating? Woods wins all the time because he hates to lose. Finishing second, third, 73rd ... what does it matter? He came to Augusta National to win, not to come close. It's no wonder he won the 2008 U.S. Open with a broken leg and shredded knee. He wouldn't quit, and then he decided he wouldn't lose. Mickelson wouldn't have won that tournament with that injury. He probably wouldn't have entered the damn thing. That's obviously a hypothetical, and it's probably not fair to speculate on such a thing. But I'm doing it. Because I was there Sunday when Woods came out of the scorer's cabin looking like he'd lost all his money -- and Mickelson came out looking like he'd found it. "It was fun to have a chance on the back nine," Mickelson said. "That's what we want as players." Wrong, Phil. That's what you want as a player. You and most of the rest of the pros. But it's not what Woods wants. He doesn't want "a chance on the back nine." He wants that big trophy and that big check they give to the winner. He wants the green jacket, even though he already has four of them. He wants one for the thumb, and then he'll want a sixth. And a seventh.
What Woods doesn't want is to make nice and pretend like he's pleased. And so when he walked out of the scorer's cabin and CBS personnel wanted him to step onto the pedestal they'd erected to interview the players, Woods declined. Immortals step onto pedestals. Woods was good Sunday, even great, but he wasn't great enough to win. So he'll stay down on the ground with the rest of the mortals, thank you. Mickelson practically pulled his groin hopping onto the pedestal. If he'd been asked to put a rose between his teeth, he'd have done it. Mickelson woke up Sunday morning seven shots out of the lead and paired with Tiger Woods, and his apparent goal was to avoid embarrassment. Don't get blown out by Woods. Beat him, lose to him, whatever. Just don't look like an idiot. Mission accomplished. Woods woke up Sunday morning expecting to win. He'd said as much Saturday night, and I almost -- but not quite, if you read to the end -- mocked him for it. "Still got a chance," Tiger? Suuuure you do. But he did have a chance. Even though he and his driver were barely on speaking terms. "I hit it so bad warming up today," Woods said. "I was hitting quick hooks, blocks, you name it, and then on the very first hole I almost hit it [two fairways to the left]. It's one of the worst tee shots I've ever hit. ... I almost won the tournament with a Band-Aid swing." And he wasn't happy about that. He wasn't even mad. He was seething. An enormous scoreboard was off to his right, evidence of his handiwork, of his 4-under 68, and Woods didn't look at it. Didn't care. He walked off the course without bothering to find out where he was in relation to the leaders. He wasn't going to win -- that's all he knew. That's all that mattered. Mickelson had nothing to be mad about. As he stood on the CBS pedestal waiting to be interviewed by Macatee, Mickelson gazed at the leaderboard with a look of wonderment. You could almost read his thoughts: Look where I started the day. And look where I finished it. Mickelson's viewpoint is more realistic, of course. You really can't win them all, and Mickelson accepts that. Woods accepts nothing. No wonder he's the best golfer we've ever seen.
=====
Thanks to Gregg Doyel of CBS Sports for this.
Shaq Being Funny Yesterday
If we could just get this Shaq everynight and less of the prick that we've seen sporadically all season it'd be hard to ever was a word against him. This video is the Shaq the NBA needs and the world needs in these depressing times.
Soulful Sunday: The Red Light
How many times have we been stuck at red lights watching a seemingly endless procession of cars go through a red light from the perpendicular direction as we sit there, praying to God for an end to it all? And it's always when you're in a hurry too or you're on a lunch break or you've got to make a visit to the bathroom or something. The light knows and the light just flat out doesn't care.
The absolute worst though is when nobody is fucking coming and you're just sitting there at a red light waiting like an idiot and literally watching powerless as your time is being wasted. Not just watching your time being wasted by actually standing for it. In fact, the only people that might be around are the shady figures in the background on foot that know it's a red light and you know that they know you aren't going anywhere and that since nobodies around they can pretty much do with you what they will. Of course sitting there waiting for that long screws with your mind and these things will enter your thinking. It's just beyond your control really. And don't you dare think about actually running the red light either because nobody is around. What are you insane? That would be exact moment the cops happen to roll on through or appear out of nowhere. Running the light = Insane but sitting there like an asshole = smart, logical thing to do.
Now the dirty little secret is that there are certain detectors in the traffic lights at these four ways that set off a signal when you pull up that your car has to trigger for the light to eventually give you the green or otherwise it will just assume that you nor anybody else is sitting there waiting.
Girls should be that way. There ought to be some sort of signal being given off before there's a green light and there's a 'go' signal. Lest you be sitting at the light like an idiot when nobody else is threatening your pathway and it's seemingly all clear and you have everything but permission.
Just a thought, ladies.
Algebra - At This Time
Carla Riddick - I Don't Wanna
Kelis - Freak Me Slow _Prod. By Neptunes (Unreleased Track)
D/L individually below. (Although if you only download one, make sure it's the Kelis song. Just wonderful.)
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Black Kids Cooning :(
Folks, it hurts me to write these kinds of stories but this link is a testament of just how embarrassing black youth are getting. Consider this a mirror moment, black people. I'm doing this for us.Remember that as you look at the pictures and contrast the black kids from the white kids. :(
http://www2.cmcss.net/~RHS/RHS_news/prinofbus2004/prinofbus2004.htm
http://www2.cmcss.net/~RHS/RHS_news/prinofbus2004/prinofbus2004.htm
Friday, April 10, 2009
Cassies New Hairdo
We're saying this because we care, get a hobby. This is not cutting edge or the new in thing, this is just silly. You're already a beautiful woman whose graced magazine covers and fashion events and even been a Wednesday's Woman for God's sake. Why are you doing this?
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Video Of The Week : Kobe Taunts D.J Mbenga
I usually don't say this but good shit, Kobe! This is video of the month. LMAO!
Alright I'm O'Ding and I've been up way past my bedtime. Thats it for tonite.
Win Free Domino's For A Year Delivered By Their CEO
In the ultimate "Slow News Day" story, Dominos is offering a contest right now that if you win they give you free food for an entire year if you're picked after you nominate a friend for the contest. That's the condensed gest of the video for those of you who feel you're too important to be bothered to watch the :30 second long clip from above (trust me you probably aren't that special but whatever).
Their food isn't even that great. I eat Domino's like maybe a few times a year, if that. Not even enough to warrant even having my name in their system. Like if I'm driving and I'm bored with the food at home I might maybe drop in and order a pizza and wait on it. I'm not a pizza calling/delivering type of cat. Why should I pay you for getting the pizza and bringing it to me? I'm not about to go in pocket for something that I can just as easily do. Beside the point, the whole draw of this promotion I guess is the CEO of Domino's delivers you the pizza for a year if you win the contest which is really like whatever to me. Like this dude is special or something. Like he was on Dancing With The Stars last season or something. Like he's kind of a big deal. Let me tell you something, I either cut off, ride someone's ass (n/h) in traffic or get in front of someone that's somebody's boss everyday. Believe me, I couldn't even tell the difference. In fact, if all you're doing is delivering the pizza to me Mr. CEO you won't make a difference. You're giving your time up in vain. I won't be shocked. You won't get a tip. You won't get any recognition. You might not even get a Bruh man from the 5th Flo' Headnod. I'm getting my pizza and you're getting the hell off my lawn and that's the extent. CEO or no CEO I don't care.
Like I could see if this guy was Jared from Subway or something. He comes up to my door and delivers a Spicy Italian Sub with just Mustard and Provolone, he'll get a handshake. I know him. He hustles a reputable product. Dominos...not so much. You sell thin ass pizza that clogs arteries and cinnastix with a garlic undertaste.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Wednesday's Woman Priscila Pires
Listen, I don't seek Brazillian stories out, I don't go looking for them and I feel a little like Michael Corleone everytime I post some Brazillian woman:
Like I really had another woman all lined up and ready to go for today's post and I happened upon Priscilla and was like disappointed that some other chick just threw off my whole schedule. Like out and out just walked across my computer screen like Rick James and looked at my itinerary and was basically like 'Buy another one you rich motherfucker'. [Basically the equivalent of I don't care about what you were doing and however you thought it was going to be] But that aside, when I see a woman like today's woman can you blame me? I mean really? If they spoke English in Brazil there'd be no need for cats to border jump into America and thug your way in to this country anymore. No this country would be quite spacious. Having said that though I grew up in America, I had my first kiss here and every romantic excursion thereafter here. I've seen people that I love flourish here, grow old and die and be born here alike. I'm most at peace with the familiarity I have with the landscape the temperatures and scenery that I love so much. I owe a great deal to this country but that aside if they spoke English in Brazil and I could either live here or there, I'd be in that long line of people smuggling their way into Brazil, riding in the backs of unassuming trucks, stowing away on trains and trespassing my way into the country under the shadows of the moon in the darkest hours.
Priscilla Pires is a living testament to this...
Small, small crit. I just wish she'd cut out that same damn pose and killed the pouty lips because that takes from what is a 10 and makes the package a 9.9995. But hey, whether you give me a Benz or a Benz with a spec of dirt on it, I know one thing, if I'm offered I won't be walking. Like ever. Even when I get the mail. You get what I'm saying.
Like I really had another woman all lined up and ready to go for today's post and I happened upon Priscilla and was like disappointed that some other chick just threw off my whole schedule. Like out and out just walked across my computer screen like Rick James and looked at my itinerary and was basically like 'Buy another one you rich motherfucker'. [Basically the equivalent of I don't care about what you were doing and however you thought it was going to be] But that aside, when I see a woman like today's woman can you blame me? I mean really? If they spoke English in Brazil there'd be no need for cats to border jump into America and thug your way in to this country anymore. No this country would be quite spacious. Having said that though I grew up in America, I had my first kiss here and every romantic excursion thereafter here. I've seen people that I love flourish here, grow old and die and be born here alike. I'm most at peace with the familiarity I have with the landscape the temperatures and scenery that I love so much. I owe a great deal to this country but that aside if they spoke English in Brazil and I could either live here or there, I'd be in that long line of people smuggling their way into Brazil, riding in the backs of unassuming trucks, stowing away on trains and trespassing my way into the country under the shadows of the moon in the darkest hours.
Priscilla Pires is a living testament to this...
Small, small crit. I just wish she'd cut out that same damn pose and killed the pouty lips because that takes from what is a 10 and makes the package a 9.9995. But hey, whether you give me a Benz or a Benz with a spec of dirt on it, I know one thing, if I'm offered I won't be walking. Like ever. Even when I get the mail. You get what I'm saying.
Labels:
Brazil,
Priscila Pires,
Wednesdays Women
Tuesdays Top Ten: Basketball Players Of This Decade
Tuesday's Top Ten this week was one of the most painstakingly hardest lists I've ever made. Not because I don't know basketball because believe me I watch enough basketball to son Hubie Brown and Bill Russell at the same time *obvious hyperbole*. No the reason this list was harder than most others was because I had to do a lot of soul searching and put aside petty grievances I had with some individuals on this list and acknowledge strictly what they've done on the court and how that correlated through their performances and while my hate might have held me back from rooting for them this decade, their numbers couldn't hold them back from being on this list. And so that is how these ten names came to be...
Shaquille O'Neal - This was almost a coin flip between him and Timmy D for the top spot. They both won championships this decade. They've both been the main focal point of their teams in three championships. They've both been dominant big men in a new era that has seen no other real peers. Both of their numbers has been every bit legendary as their status would indicate . The only difference is the fourth ring that Shaq got in Miami as Wade's sidekick. It wasn't in near the same fashion as his previous three but I won't split hairs. It's rarefied air to have that many championship rings and not only have them but be able to have actually contributed a great deal to all of them. For this reason you have to give the edge to Shaq.
Tim Duncan - The Big Fundamental is just the most underappreciated star of this decade other than maybe Paul Pierce. After all, all he's done is rack up three NBA championships, three NBA Finals MVPs, much like Shaq, and unleash the kind of steady neckbreaking work load that a bulldozer would be jealous of without complaint and to little fanfare. Even if the fans don't recognize him for what he's done and who he's been the least I can do is do my part in honoring him.
LeBron James - LeBron James hasn't won a championship yet but what he has won is the title of the most outstanding player in the league universally. I don't think there's a player in the league with his size, strength, quickness and explosiveness. He's just not human. He's like that dog that was genetically engineered in a lab in "Man's Best Friend" that's just a hybrid of 20 animals all rolled into one K-9. The movie trailer is literally the same concept as LBJ.
I'm sorry but when you're 275 pounds and you play like LeBron does and tell gravity it's on timeout with your dunks you certainly have a place on this list. Not to mention literally singlehandedly willing your team through to the NBA Finals at 21 you need to be on this list.
Jason Kidd - As I said before, this guy is the Jadakiss of NBA players. Great enough to command respect off his talent. Sees the game for others better than he can see through his own efforts and yet will never find individual glory. Kidd was just a victim of who he was playing at the time he went to the Finals. To have to go up against the Lakers two years in a row was just unfair. Especially when they've got a top 10 and a top 15 player on their side and you'd got Luscious Harris and Jason Kidd. That's just not a battle you can win and it's just not a battle people can expect you to win or fault you when you lose. Jason Kidd played the point better than anybody else this decade and we ought to commend him for all he did with those Jersey teams. That's the closest that organization, that rag tag bunch of outcasts they gave him or that city will ever be to a championship and all the credit is due to Jason.
Kobe Bryant - I struggled how high I wanted to put him. I mean he got three rings this decade but he was also not the main guy on those teams. You certainly can't minimize his contributions though in the slightest. At the end of the day though rings matter. They have to matter no matter what. There has to be a consistent standard when judging players even when you don't like them. Otherwise when your guy wins a championship you undercut your own favorite player if and when they win a championship. It has to mean something when your favorite player wins and when your least favorite player wins. This is just the reality. I can't overlook Kobe's MVP last year either. It was a particularly hard fought close race that year two. A lot of different players could have won it but Kobe did and for that he gets props and respect.
Paul Pierce - I have Paul just outside of the top 5 and I think it's about right. He's my favorite player but it's important to me I do a thorough and accurate job here in listing the players and how their resumes compare relative to their peers this decade. Paul Pierce had a spectacular decade even if it didn't get off to the best start back in 2000 in his unfortunate stabbing incident in late summer. The guy overcame that though. Love him or hate him you have to admire a guy whose stab wounds were half of an inch from killing him who didn't miss a game that season or the next one after that. With the cast of scrubs that Boston gave him in the next seven years though I'm sure he wish that whoever assaulted him would have went on and killed him because with that crew he was dead in the water. However he did bring his merry band of bums to the cusp of the Eastern Conference Championships in 2002 almost completely by himself (the second best player he had from the day he entered the league up until 2007 was Antoine Walker and the third was Raef Lafrentz) coming up short just two games from going onto face the Lakers in the Finals. However, six years later he'd get his chance to play the Lakers in the Finals and much like he had been the best player throughout the playoffs up until that point he was the best player once again in the Finals stunning Kobe Stanleys everywhere on his way to a ring and an NBA Finals MVP trophy. After putting up similar numbers to the oft-heralded Kobe Bryant throughout the decade (look the stats up here for yourself and here) he finally proved what I had been saying all along which was that him and Kobe were both on the same level much to people's dismay. I staked my whole basketball credibility on this subject for years like Barack Obama opposing the war from the beginning back when everybody else thought otherwise. Thankfully we were both right and we proved to know what we were talking about. Now I'm not denying Paul Pierce didn't have any help in winning that title, but I am saying he was the best player on that team and when the chips were down you know who to go to on that team. He's earned his spot on the list.
Kevin Garnett - The Big Ticket is to me the best 2nd option in the history of the league. Now I don't mean that as a diss, I mean that as a reality. I mean he was the original T-Mac before T-Mac was T-Mac. He couldn't get out of the first round for what he tried and last year aside, he didn't get out of the first round but one time in his whole career. He'd never been enough to take a team to the promised land. What he was however was a athletic, rail thin freak who gave you 110% every night, did all the things that you want your big man to do, inspired everyone else on the team and gave your defense the boost it needed to keep you in every game you played indiscriminately. I'll even go as far as to say, this guy out-Pippens Pippen as far as the best sidekicks of all time. He just can't be recognized as The Man but that doesn't mean this guy isn't great and doesn't belong on this list.
Allen Iverson - This one probably makes the least sense out of everybody I put on this list considering my love-to-hate past with this guy but there is something that I have to admit, the little shit went hard all decade. There's a lot to hate about his game but if you can get past that there's also a lot to say about a guy who took his team to the Finals against a Lakers juggernaut that was just starting to hit its stride, win or lose. Iverson was unquestionably the go to guy on that Sixers team (even though technically if you take 40 shots a game no one else is even in the running to be the go to guy) and he faced and beat a Milwaukee Bucks team at the time a lot of people though was going to beat them but he moved on. He also won an MVP award that same year that can't be dismissed. Over the course of the decade there hasn't been a more controversial player, there also hasn't been many tougher players and to his credit a more willing player to take the last shot, hit or miss, and deal with the criticism. Respect.
Dwyane Wade - The guy was just phenomenal in 2006 and his motor hasn't ever really stopped. Won a ring, won a Finals MVP, was the most outstanding player in the playoffs that year and continues to this day to dominate. It's really a shame that he came out the same year as LeBron James or he'd get, rightfully so, more recognition. Wade is great.
Dirk Nowitzki - Dirk has to be here. He won an MVP, albeit the most embarassing MVP trophy of all-time and he got his team to the Finals. Dirk is one of my favorite players but he's also only almost good enough to be great but not quite great. He's had chances he just hasn't taken advantage of them all in his career. If he played defense and was a little bit grittier he'd be higher.
Shaquille O'Neal - This was almost a coin flip between him and Timmy D for the top spot. They both won championships this decade. They've both been the main focal point of their teams in three championships. They've both been dominant big men in a new era that has seen no other real peers. Both of their numbers has been every bit legendary as their status would indicate . The only difference is the fourth ring that Shaq got in Miami as Wade's sidekick. It wasn't in near the same fashion as his previous three but I won't split hairs. It's rarefied air to have that many championship rings and not only have them but be able to have actually contributed a great deal to all of them. For this reason you have to give the edge to Shaq.
Tim Duncan - The Big Fundamental is just the most underappreciated star of this decade other than maybe Paul Pierce. After all, all he's done is rack up three NBA championships, three NBA Finals MVPs, much like Shaq, and unleash the kind of steady neckbreaking work load that a bulldozer would be jealous of without complaint and to little fanfare. Even if the fans don't recognize him for what he's done and who he's been the least I can do is do my part in honoring him.
LeBron James - LeBron James hasn't won a championship yet but what he has won is the title of the most outstanding player in the league universally. I don't think there's a player in the league with his size, strength, quickness and explosiveness. He's just not human. He's like that dog that was genetically engineered in a lab in "Man's Best Friend" that's just a hybrid of 20 animals all rolled into one K-9. The movie trailer is literally the same concept as LBJ.
I'm sorry but when you're 275 pounds and you play like LeBron does and tell gravity it's on timeout with your dunks you certainly have a place on this list. Not to mention literally singlehandedly willing your team through to the NBA Finals at 21 you need to be on this list.
Jason Kidd - As I said before, this guy is the Jadakiss of NBA players. Great enough to command respect off his talent. Sees the game for others better than he can see through his own efforts and yet will never find individual glory. Kidd was just a victim of who he was playing at the time he went to the Finals. To have to go up against the Lakers two years in a row was just unfair. Especially when they've got a top 10 and a top 15 player on their side and you'd got Luscious Harris and Jason Kidd. That's just not a battle you can win and it's just not a battle people can expect you to win or fault you when you lose. Jason Kidd played the point better than anybody else this decade and we ought to commend him for all he did with those Jersey teams. That's the closest that organization, that rag tag bunch of outcasts they gave him or that city will ever be to a championship and all the credit is due to Jason.
Kobe Bryant - I struggled how high I wanted to put him. I mean he got three rings this decade but he was also not the main guy on those teams. You certainly can't minimize his contributions though in the slightest. At the end of the day though rings matter. They have to matter no matter what. There has to be a consistent standard when judging players even when you don't like them. Otherwise when your guy wins a championship you undercut your own favorite player if and when they win a championship. It has to mean something when your favorite player wins and when your least favorite player wins. This is just the reality. I can't overlook Kobe's MVP last year either. It was a particularly hard fought close race that year two. A lot of different players could have won it but Kobe did and for that he gets props and respect.
Paul Pierce - I have Paul just outside of the top 5 and I think it's about right. He's my favorite player but it's important to me I do a thorough and accurate job here in listing the players and how their resumes compare relative to their peers this decade. Paul Pierce had a spectacular decade even if it didn't get off to the best start back in 2000 in his unfortunate stabbing incident in late summer. The guy overcame that though. Love him or hate him you have to admire a guy whose stab wounds were half of an inch from killing him who didn't miss a game that season or the next one after that. With the cast of scrubs that Boston gave him in the next seven years though I'm sure he wish that whoever assaulted him would have went on and killed him because with that crew he was dead in the water. However he did bring his merry band of bums to the cusp of the Eastern Conference Championships in 2002 almost completely by himself (the second best player he had from the day he entered the league up until 2007 was Antoine Walker and the third was Raef Lafrentz) coming up short just two games from going onto face the Lakers in the Finals. However, six years later he'd get his chance to play the Lakers in the Finals and much like he had been the best player throughout the playoffs up until that point he was the best player once again in the Finals stunning Kobe Stanleys everywhere on his way to a ring and an NBA Finals MVP trophy. After putting up similar numbers to the oft-heralded Kobe Bryant throughout the decade (look the stats up here for yourself and here) he finally proved what I had been saying all along which was that him and Kobe were both on the same level much to people's dismay. I staked my whole basketball credibility on this subject for years like Barack Obama opposing the war from the beginning back when everybody else thought otherwise. Thankfully we were both right and we proved to know what we were talking about. Now I'm not denying Paul Pierce didn't have any help in winning that title, but I am saying he was the best player on that team and when the chips were down you know who to go to on that team. He's earned his spot on the list.
Kevin Garnett - The Big Ticket is to me the best 2nd option in the history of the league. Now I don't mean that as a diss, I mean that as a reality. I mean he was the original T-Mac before T-Mac was T-Mac. He couldn't get out of the first round for what he tried and last year aside, he didn't get out of the first round but one time in his whole career. He'd never been enough to take a team to the promised land. What he was however was a athletic, rail thin freak who gave you 110% every night, did all the things that you want your big man to do, inspired everyone else on the team and gave your defense the boost it needed to keep you in every game you played indiscriminately. I'll even go as far as to say, this guy out-Pippens Pippen as far as the best sidekicks of all time. He just can't be recognized as The Man but that doesn't mean this guy isn't great and doesn't belong on this list.
Allen Iverson - This one probably makes the least sense out of everybody I put on this list considering my love-to-hate past with this guy but there is something that I have to admit, the little shit went hard all decade. There's a lot to hate about his game but if you can get past that there's also a lot to say about a guy who took his team to the Finals against a Lakers juggernaut that was just starting to hit its stride, win or lose. Iverson was unquestionably the go to guy on that Sixers team (even though technically if you take 40 shots a game no one else is even in the running to be the go to guy) and he faced and beat a Milwaukee Bucks team at the time a lot of people though was going to beat them but he moved on. He also won an MVP award that same year that can't be dismissed. Over the course of the decade there hasn't been a more controversial player, there also hasn't been many tougher players and to his credit a more willing player to take the last shot, hit or miss, and deal with the criticism. Respect.
Dwyane Wade - The guy was just phenomenal in 2006 and his motor hasn't ever really stopped. Won a ring, won a Finals MVP, was the most outstanding player in the playoffs that year and continues to this day to dominate. It's really a shame that he came out the same year as LeBron James or he'd get, rightfully so, more recognition. Wade is great.
Dirk Nowitzki - Dirk has to be here. He won an MVP, albeit the most embarassing MVP trophy of all-time and he got his team to the Finals. Dirk is one of my favorite players but he's also only almost good enough to be great but not quite great. He's had chances he just hasn't taken advantage of them all in his career. If he played defense and was a little bit grittier he'd be higher.
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