Fries and Ketchup..

This is our new weekly column that tries to catch up with some of the stories we missed over the past couple of days. It's our way of satiating your thirst for our thoughts on a myriad of sports news and other topics. I guess thirst would be a little strong, but here it is anyway.

I bet that snack pack is pretty good huh? ... Wanna trade me the rest of it for this banana?.. :
As a Laker fan still basking in their championship glory, it is pretty hard for me to get excited for the NBA draft. However as an NBA fan I usually still get excited when big trades go down, the key word there is usually. Last nights inspired move by the Cavaliers to garner the services of Shaquille O'Neal are nice. Nice that they are doing what they can to compete with the front courts of Orlando and Boston. Nice that they are doing their all to insure Lebron that they will always try to improve the team. Nice that they will finally be able to give Big Z some more rest on the bench. Nice that they didn't give up anything for the Big Amadeus; a second round pick, $500,000, Pavlovic is likely to released and Ben Wallace may retire (although he has $14 million reasons to suit up). Lastly the idea of King James and Shaq Daddy suiting up together is still an impressive vision. With all of these positives for the Cavaliers, I want you to quell any excitement for this trade.

Let me remind you that Shaq was the third scorer on the Heat (three years ago!), and the Cavaliers need a second option not a third or fourth. The Suns struggled and eventually missed out on the playoffs, sure Terry Porter's inability to coach and Amare's injury didn't help. But Shaq didn't make the Suns championship caliber either, if anything all he did was help keep a team with a low level of talent competitive for a just little longer. Most importantly, this trade doesn't even solve the biggest reason they were sent home after the conference finals. Defense. They couldn't stop the screen and roll of Orlando, and they didn't do much better with isolation in the paint. To be stopped, Orlando had to face a team with a lot more talent than Cleveland currently has on its roster. This trade could work, but I highly doubt it. If Cleveland happens to fulfill their cities championship dreams in 2010, it will be because of Lebron and not the addition of Shaq.

Remix:
I came across "Press Hop" on KSK a couple days ago. It's a remix using some of the most notable press conferences in recent memory and autotune, not to mention it features a rather creepy Joe Namath. DJ Steve Porter, the genius who made the video has also done his work on a couple of infomercials. The following is my favorite, enjoy.



Dodger Watch:
47-25 on the year; 26-17 without Manny; 7 games left on the suspension; and two awesome beards

Buy this album:
Paolo Nutini debuted in the U.S. in 2006, his first album These Streets was a success selling a couple million. It was panned by critics, getting him lumped in with some of the James' of the World (Morrison, Blunt). The album was fun and not a bad listen, the criticism was warranted. The album showed his age, especially with the material and the interminable sound.

But with his second Sunny Side Up, it seems as if he was trying to discredit any critic of his. From the first song "10/10," he hits you with an addictive ska/pop sound. He continues his musical transistion throughout the album, taking you on what seems like a tour of music. He uses a little bit of everything, from memphis-horns on "Coming Up Easy" to country-docile lyrics on "Pencil Full Of Lead." Though this transition, sounds like a bad idea. Paolo found a way to challenge himself musically while still keeping the feel of the songs connected throughout. This may not be album of the year material, but it's a perfect listen for a road trip.



Avoid this movie:
For those of us with a wife or girlfriend, we all know the situation; Your at your local video rental store with your significant other, excited to spend the night curled up together on the couch. When asked "What do you want to get?," you give her the answer every guy gives "I don't mind, just get what you want." We do this for a various amount of reasons, with all of them being warranted. But I have never regretted saying those words more-so than last weekend, when I let the LCG pick out "She's Just Not Into You." I figured it couldn't be as bad as "Bride Wars," considering a male comedian wrote the flick and it had a decent cast. But once again, let me remind you, I haven't regretted watching a movie more than this in my life. And that's coming from a guy who owns "Suburban Commando."

This movie was advertised as a rom-com. If that's what it was, it failed miserably. I didn't laugh once. If this was supposed to be a drama, it failed miserably. There were a couple different story-lines going on; the couple that is destined to get together, the couple on the verge of ending, the couple that refuses to move on to the next step (i.e. marriage), etc. It follows these 20 and 30-somethings who just so happen to own beautiful loft apartments they couldn't possibly afford and struggle with relationship issues that are irksome to deal with in real life and even more-so to watch. Thrown in is the typical Hollywood view on marriage, making the one married couple a miserable pair that hates their lot in life. If I had to guess there are probably only 40 people in the world that could connect with these characters on any level and they were probably involved in making this steaming pile. This was so bad I was hoping for a mass suicide half-way through the movie, yet anything to end it prematurely would have done. As you can probably guess the best part about this movie was when it ended.

Let's dance.. :
Even talking about that movie leaves me upset, but hey the sequel to "Powder" is coming out soon. This time he's a merrymaker and turns the handicapped into party animals..