Steviekick

But none of those really count except for Aftermath. They were all set up by the artists ass they debuted to selll their records. Once they started making a slight impact, they then hooked up with the majors. Aftermath was started by Dre as part of his incentive to sign with Interscope.

I'd say he's worse... Iverson is willing to play hurt, ultra competitive, and at times is willing to take the blame when the Sixers mess up. Post-Detroit Rodman may have been a huge off the court distraction, but when it came to showing up to play, he'd carry his load.

Great stuff...Jerry Lynn looks like he's on a path to greatness...

CWF News Update Here's a preview for this week's show... • Farooq and Bradwhaw vs. Davey Boy Smith and William Regal • The Main Event for Beach Blast will be announced • Things should be interesting since co-GM Vince McMahon will be in the building. Will Tommy Dreamer's throwing of his daughter through a limo window set the tone for the night? • A four way for the number one contendership to the Cruiserweight Title...Mikey Whipwreck vs. Rico vs. Spike Dudley vs. Rey Mysterio. CWF will begin a second weekly, one hour show focusing primarily on our cruiserweight division. We are looking for your suggestions for what we should do in the personnell department!

If Dallas wound up getting Shaq for Jamison and Walker and could get maybe one B-list player, they could take it in the west.

Malone already opted out of his contract and has stated unless his leg heals 100% he's done. I doubt Gary Payton opts outs since there's no longer going to be a triangle offense is effect so he'll get more oppurtunities to score, not to mention after this past season he's not about to see more than what his current contract is going to get him. Horace Grant is probably done and I believe Rick Fox counts too much against the cap to just get rid of. Payton will stay in LA definitely now that Jackson's gone. I'm sure whoever the new coach is will give him more freedom as far as playmaking, and Payton will have a much better year. Even though Shaq is getting older in his career, he is still better and contributes more to the Lakers than Kobe. If I was in charge, I'd give Kobe an out, and try to appease Shaq.

That's the way it should be... • OaO/official threads about the season to include scores, minor trades, injuries, game discussions • Things that warrant their own threads should get their own: Kobe's trial, the potential NHL strike, etc.

The majority of all those band run vanity labels is just a pyramid scheme. Basically, their giving the major artist a share of the profits of whoever they can bring into the record label family.

I wonder if Pat Riley will want to get the coaching bug...

For Payton, Malone, and Pistons fans, it will be remembered forever. For vengeful Lakers fans, maybe a season or two. Aside from the Lakers getting completely shut down and falling apart, it really wasn't that memorable a series.

I guess as a kid I just wanted to be more of an adult. Reading about Peter's job problems and personal life was much more interesting that your usual high school drama which I had to deal with. Now I guess I relate more to Spidey.

Well, its very relieving to know that he's ok. I give him a lot of credit for privately dealing with prostate cancer the last few years.

That would be cool. I would like to see Spidey/Outsiders only because I like Spidey as an adult. He's much more well grounded as a grown up.

Even though I like both teams, 80% of my fandom was for the Lakers winning. I really have nothing that I can add to the accolades that the Pistons. So I'm going to pick someon to blame my frustrations on from the Lakers camp for the Finals. Here is who it isn't.... Bryon Russell: You'd think someone would have put him in when they realized that all the rookies on the team had no clue what they were doing. He played in two previous Finals and some All-Star weekend event, you know. And you don't do that by sitting the bench the whole time. Shaq: Did everything. The big fella did his best. Rick Fox: It's easy to point the finger when your really not doing anything. Rush, Cook, and Walton Jr.: Excused due to inexperience. Devean George: Should have been lucky that he was starting. Anywhere else he'd be benched forever. Slava: If you want to take all those shots you better be able to make them. Malone: Not your fault you got hurt. Horace Grant: Your lucky you got out when you did. Fisher: You did have the occasional moment of enthusiasm. Payton: Everyone and there mother is blaming him, but I won't. It was quite ignorant for them to expect that he'd go from wheeling and dealing and doing what you please offensively to just passing. Kobe: For being a ball hog and taking too many shots. But then again, no one else on the team was making those shots. So who do I blame? Phil Jackson • Wasn't able to get Kobe and Shaq on the same page. • Ruining Gary Payton's self esteem. In the first month of the season, Payton had offensive freedom. Payton was motivated and getting other people involved. By Christmas time, that wasn't allowed. Payton just gets more and more frustrated, gets dejected as he gets benched for the fourth quarter in regular season games. Basically Payton was drive nuts. • Not getting Laker management to look for some replacement at the power forward. Malone and Horace both went down around roughly the same time with season ending injuries (anyone else would have called it a season, but a ring motivated Malone cannot be stopped by conventional weapons). You would have thunk he'd be pulling for someone in the front office to work on something. • Forgetting the importance of his bench. He one six championships in Chicago because he had unbeliveable support. This year he thinks that having two of the most dominant players in the league and two legendary vets at the end of their careers would be enough. • Not motivating his team. Not once during the finals was he ever fired up during or before a game. Compare that to Larry Brown who was in his players faces on every posession. • Being stubborn about veering from his Triangle Offense. That kind of goes along with the Payton argument, but the first two games of the finals proved it wasn't working and he stuck with it. And went down with its ship. • Not playing mind games. He's always talking bizarre trash and starting stuff with the other teams very subtley. He's known for it. He didn't even try to irritate the other team. I can think of a lot more, but I'm too tired and dissappointed to continue. Here's what I think the Lakers should do... • Say farewell to Jackson. The way things look, Don Nelson and Rick Adleman may be available... • If you can, trade Kobe. They can propably pick up some good supporting cast. It's just like the guy said in the docudrama of the 1980s US Olympic Hockey Film..."it's not that i have the best players, i have the right players". • I don't think we've seen the last of Karl and Gary. They've both been humilated and I'm sure will stay around to at least end their careers on a high note.

I'd have to go with Spider-Man. Slade will take the early advantage but Spidey will persevere.

For what Dischord is, they've done very well. Ian should be proud of himself. As for bands who set up a record label that tanked, look no further than the Beastie Boys' Grand Royale Records which cost them a lot of money. After it went bankrupt, They wound up auctioning off the name and "grand royale" logo (basically a poker hand) off online this spring.

from Reuters.com LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The guitarist with pioneering punk rock band the Ramones is fighting a losing a battle with cancer in a Los Angeles hospital, Rolling Stone magazine reported on its Web site on Tuesday. Johnny Ramone, 55, whose real name is John Cummings, was diagnosed with prostate cancer four years ago, and it has now spread throughout his body, Rollingstone.com quoted the band's drummer, Marky Ramone, as saying. "Johnny's been a champ in confronting this, but at this point I think the chances are slim," Marky Ramone said in the report. "John never smoked cigarettes, he wasn't a heavy drinker and he was always into his health. It just proves when cancer seeks a body to penetrate, it doesn't matter how healthy you are or how unhealthy you are. It just seeps in and there's nothing you can do." The Ramones, famed for playing their high-energy, unpolished songs at breakneck speed, rose to fame in New York City in 1974, paving the way for such British punk rock icons as the Sex Pistols and the Clash. The band made its mark with such tunes as "Blitzkrieg Bop," "Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue" and "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker," but it never achieved the same commercial success as acts that followed in its path. The Ramones officially retired in 1996. The band's singer, Joey Ramone (ne Jeff Hyman), died in 2001 of lymphatic cancer, while bassist Dee Dee Ramone (Douglas Colvin) died from a drug overdose the following year. ----------------- Wow. That is very upsetting. Johnny's a tough dude. He survived an almost fatal beating from one of the guys from the band Zero Construction who practically smashed his head in. He had all kinds of emergency brain surgery.

Very true. It would be very close either way.

Man. That's terrible. Johnny is a really nice guy. And he is truly one of the few people who are actually a free-spirit, punk...he's propably one of the only staunch conservatives in rock music. Poor Johnny.

He'll be the only.

Good stuff. THe finish really made Steiner look like a monster.

Actually, Parker's half Belgian. Anyway, Raz, I feel your pain of how it went for the Spurs. My Lakers have dissapointed and saddened me. The only upside is that Larry Brown finally leads a team to the Championship, but that is just a slight consolation.

That's a pretty cool idea.

Maybe, but: sum(Lakers + Pistons white euro players) < Andrei Kirilenko

That was a bullshit foul on Shaq. Okur was hooking.